HSD Naruto
by JAYSEN
Summary: Kakashi has just left Naruto to his fate against Neji, but what if the Sandaime was watching? What if Naruto had more family out there and they caught wind of this? OOC for some with Naru/small harem. Rated M for salty language.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey there! JAYSEN here with ANOTHER fic! This one has been bouncing around in my skull for a while now, but never really got around to typing it out. Kakashi will be a bit of an asshole in this one as well as a multiple girls, at least three, who will end up with a our favorite blond hero. For those who don't like harems, don't bother reading and ruining things for those that don't mind and acknowledge the fact that this is only a story written for YOUR enjoyment. There's nothing worse than people who take themselves far too seriously and I deal with that enough on a daily basis from very arrogant higher-ups that couldn't lead a pack of hungry woves to fresh meat if their lives depended on it, so I won't tolerate it here. Don't even bother leaving an anonymous flame with a fake name, as I will only delete it. _

Down in Fire Country, near a hot spring bath in the ninja village known as Konoha, a young shinobi was in a heated argument with his sensei.

"No, Naruto. I can't train you. I'm already training Sasuke for the finals." Kakashi told his less favored student.

"Why not? Other sensei do it! Why can't you?" Naruto tried to reason.

Naruto had made it to the finals of the Chuunin Exams against all odds. He got there by defeating Kiba Inuzuka, one of the strongest genin of his year at the Academy. Now, he had to face Neji Hyuuga, the previous year's Rookie of the Year and easily one of the deadliest fighters in the tournament. He already showed that he had no problems with nearly ripping Hinata, his own cousin, to shreds, and would love nothing more than to kill him, just to prove a point.

Kakashi, however, had other plans and those didn't include helping his student survive his match. He never had any real faith in Naruto, despite the boy saving his life before. "Naruto, I'm only training Sasuke for the finals and that's the end of it. He has a better chance at making Chuunin than you do, so putting any effort into training you would only be a waste of my time and would tarnish my reputation. Besides, you don't have the natural talent for what I teach, anyway." He told the boy coldly annd callously as he poofed away, leaving behind a hurt and betrayed Naruto.

Naruto didn't want believe what had just happened, but it hurt too much to ignore. He had just been abandoned by his own sensei for the Uchiha genius, just like that. All of the anger and rage that he had bottled up inside of himself and let it out.

"KAKASHI, YOU ASSHOLE!" The blond genin roared in anger at the top of his lungs before heading off to one of his comfort spots, Ichiraku Ramen, while he tried to think what to do and who to ask for training.

_**MEANHWILE...**_

Taking a break from signing and filing paperwork, Sarutobi was gazing into his scrying crystral to see what was happening in the village. That was when he came across what Kakashi had done to his student when he needed him the most. Suffice to say, the Hokage was NOT happy with the cycloptic Jounin's blatant favortisim. It brought back unpleasant memories of his own time as a Jounin sensei, when he favored Orochimaru over his other two students, only for him to betray them all.

With a heavy sigh, he called two of his personal ANBU to him. The first one was a female with long purple hair and a cat mask. "Neko, could you please find Naruto for me and bring him here? I would like to talk with him about something very important and that the time has come for him to learn about his family. I really wish that this wouldn't have happened for another year or so, but that fool Kakashi has forced my hand."

"Senpai's really done it now. How could he do that to a child, especially his own student who needs him?" Neko fumed angrily as she flickered away to find the boy.

"Ushi...I need you to go and inform Fuurinji Hayato that I need to talk with him concerning his other last remaning relative. Tell him that the time has finally come." The old Hokage instructed.

Ushi cringed involuntarily at what the Hokage wanted him to do. "I have to go into that...that MADHOUSE?"

Usually, nothing scared the ANBU. However, there was only one place that could inspire such fear from otherwise fearless people. A place where masters of their arts and styles have gathered to further and better themselves. A place where the masters can only be described as superhuman, true to life fighting machines. A place called..._**RYOZANPAKU!**_

Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off an impending headache. "Yes. Now go." He ordered in annoyance.

_**WITH ANBU USHI**_

Ushi had just now arrived at the Ryozanpaku compound, cautiously entering. He walked around in an almost tip-toe fashion as he looked around for the person he was sent to get. After a few minutes, he began to relax.

"T-this isn't so bad..." He muttered to himself as he began to look around the compound in a much more casual manner until a crashing noise grabbed his attention. As he listened more closely, the crashing was getting closer and closer. Just when he was about to go look for the noise, a training post went screaming past his face at near terminal velocity, followed by a shout that sounded a lot like ,"APA!" Rushing toward him, a collosal bronze skinned man was speeding toward him, smashing everything in sight with his bare hands and feet.

Ushi stood stock still, his eyes screwed tightly shut. "If I don't see it, it isn't real..." He repeated over and over again like a mantra. Suddenly, he felt himself jerked out of the giant's path of destruction. He chanced opening an eye to see and massive old man holding him by the back of his ANBU armor like a kitten by the scruff.

"Oh? What ever could bring an ANBU to our little compound?" He asked in amused curiousity.

Ushi forgot himself for a moment, but recomposed himself to deliver the message he was sent to deliver. "Ah! Fuurinji-sama! Hokage-sama said that he had something important to tell you, that, "It is time."

Hayato's face grew grim as he took in what the message meant. "I see." He replied, turning to the house portion of the compund.

"Miu! If you would be so kind as to accompany me to old Saru's office? I believe that you must know about this as well." The old man said aloud.

A girl with long wavy blond hair who looked to be around 16 years old poked her head out of the house. "Oh! Okay, jii-san!" She replied. The grim look on her grandfather's face had her worried.

"Apachai! Calm down for a moment!" Hayato called out to the bronze giant, now called Apachai.

Apachai stopped in place. "Apa?" He wondered as he walked over to the old man.

"Apachai-kun, I need you to watch over the house until Akisame and the rest return. When they do, tell Shigure I need to speak with her about something very important." Hayato told Apachai with a serious look on his face.

Apachai knew that look and decided that it must be very important. "Hai. Apachai will tell Shigure." He replied solemnly.

Before the ANBU could perform the Shunshin to teleport away from these crazy people, Hayato grabbed him, flung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatos, and took off like a shot toward Hokage Tower.

_**HOKAGE TOWER**_

After a very brief, but very wild ride, the Ryozanpaku elder arrived inside of Sarutobi's office and knelt down, allowing Miu to jump off of his back and letting the dazed ANBU slump to the ground in a heap.

"You know Saru, your ANBU are getting a bit soft of they cannot handle a simple piggyback ride." The elder teased.

Sarutobi grinned at the lighthearted barb from his old friend. "It seems that way." He admitted before turning his attention to Miu.

"This lovely young lady must little Miu-chan. I haven't seen you in over 12 years." He added as he greeted the young woman.

Hayato's face suddenly turned serious. "Is he here yet? I would like to see how the boy has grown."

"Relax, Hayato. He will be heere soon as I've sent an ANBU out to go find him." The old Hokage assured his old friend.

"Tell me, how has his life been so far. I assume that either Jiraiya-kun or Tsunade-chan took him in? They are the godparents, after all." The old martial artist reasoned.

The reaction that he got from his old friend was less than comforting. His saddend and distraght visage made both of the Fuurinji's very worried. "Jii-san, there's something wrong, isn't there?" Miu asked in a quavering tone.

"It seems that way...and I'm going to find out why." Hayato told her calmly as he leveled a piercing stare on Sarutobi.

Hayato knew of a couple people who would be very angry if something happened to the boy in question. Kousaka Shigure was known far and wide as a mistress of all weapons, a title inheirited from her sensei, Uzumaki Kushina, who herself was known as the War Goddess. When she was very young, the red-haired kunoichi found her on the streets of Takumigakure, starving and suffering. The woman took pity on the child and took her home to live with her. From there, the woman introduced her to the shinobi ways and found that she was just like her, a natural weapons prodigy. Shigure absorbed the Kushina's skills like a sponge over the next few years, growing in skill and strength, as well as beauty as the years passed. Once Kushina married Namikaze Minato, she had a full family and soon had a baby brother on the way. Her life couldn't have been better.

However, their happiness wasn't meant to last. On October 10th, Kushina went into labor while her Minato left to fight a demon that had attacked the village, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. She had been sent to a shelter to hide away and be safe by Minato, but she wanted to help him fight and see her baby brother born. Sadly, by the time she got out to the shelter, the fighting was over. She was told that he died in the fighting while her mother figure died in childbirth, along with her baby brother. Shigure went mad with grief over losing them all in one night, but eventually shed her grief and adopted a cold and uncaring persona, a stark contrast to the girl she had been before the attack. She rose through the shinobi ranks until she became an ANBU Captain at the age of 16, retiring to the confines of Ryozanpaku only a year ago at the age of 24.

Shigure wasn't the only one lied to that night by the council and Sarutobi. The leaders of the Hyuuga and the Li clans, Hyuuga Hiashi and Li Tenmon were both old friends of the Minato and Kushina, and had gone as far as to engage their unborn son to their daughters, Li Raichi and Hyuuga Hinata, as a way of binding their families together into the next generation.

The two loyal Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, had both left the village with clenched fists over the fate of their godchild. Jiraiya knew that Naruto was still alive and tried to provide for him financially since he couldn't be their physically, but the council only lined their pockets with almost all of the stipend money, leaving little to none for the boy. Tsunade had been told by Sarutobi that Naruto had died along with the young woman she almost saw as her daughter. She left the village that night without so much as a backwards glance, vowing to never return.

The village civilian council, as well as the Sandaime's two teammates and elders and the Uchiha clan, had crushed many hopes and dreams when they announced that the Kyuubi had murdered the son of the Yondaime along with his father. Their reason for this was because they were both jealous and threatend by Minato's charisma and the Uchiha by his strength and un-copyable jutsu, not to mention the fact that he, along with his sensei, developed an Anti-Sharingan seal in secret. He, Kushina, Tsunade, and Jiraiya all wore these seals to prevent Fugaku, the Uchiha clan head and bitter rival of Minato all through their carrers, from copying their hard work.

Minato had gotten numerous complaints that the Uchiha had been stealing the jutsu and styles from all over the village, with Fugaku spearheading the offenses. Fugaku had always been very haughty and arrogant, never fully accepting Minato's authority as Hokage and constantly challenged it and calling his skills into question. Minato was always very forgiving, but Fugaku had finally stretched his patience too far. On October the 10th, he was planning on revoking the Uchiha clan's privilages and kicking them off of the council for implied treason, and to dissolve the civilian council for giving orders to his ninja and authorizing missions without his approval when the Kyuubi attacked the village.

In the aftermath, a frazzled Fugaku pried a crying Naruto from his deceased father's embrace. Seeing an opportunity to grasp power for himself, he proclaimed him to be the demon reborn, but when he tried to assert his claim on the office of Hokage, old Sarutobi had taken the reigns once again and took Naruto from his grasp. The council countered by whipping the populace into a murderous frenzy, bent on 'avenging' the death of their beloved Yondaime and his deceased son at the hands of the Kyuubi, who was now reborn inside of a baby boy, as well as making sure none of Minato's friends could come to the boy's rescue. They managed to get rid of Tsunade and Jiraiya, and told the girl that he and Kushina had taken in that the boy was dead.

Sarutobi slammed headlong into damage control in an attempt to stem the damage that had already been done by protecting him as best he could, but many of his effort had been in vain, undermined by some of his own shinobi and council. He couldn't even come clean with Naruto's true heritage without some nasty reprecussions, like the council actually killing the boy to keep their betrayal a secret. However, now that Naruto was older enough to protect himself somewhat and with the training that Ryozanpaku could provide, the council would no longer be a threat. He had hoped that Kakashi would be able to protect and train the boy, but the copy-nin had turned out to be a massive disappointment.

Hayato listened to the entire tale and grew angrier with the council and the village with each passing minute, with Miu nearly in tears as they heard the finer details of the boy's life. When the tale wound down, he bowed his head in shame. He could have taken the boy in, but he too had thought the boy lost. "Minato my nephew...I am so sorry. I will atone for letting you down so badly by taking in your son as I should have long ago." He murmured as he turned to Sarutobi once again.

"I will inform the Hyuuga and Li clans of the boy's survival and see what they intent to do about the betrothal contracts. Until then, I will take over the boy's training. Kakashi has proven to be a liability. If he has a problem with this, he may deal directly with myself and the other masters." Hayato stated with an air of authority, as expected of the man who was originally chosen for the position of Sandaime Hokage, but declined it.

Sarutobi only nodded, knowing that Hayato had every right to be upset. Before he could say anything, a figure appeared in the window.

"Sensei. I will still teach the boy everything that I taught his father. He was like a son to me, so I fell that what I have to teach is his birthright." The figure stated, coming into the light to reveal none other than Jiraiya.

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun. Good to see you, my boy." Hayato greeted. Hayato knew that his absence was not of his own doing and if he had the choice, Jiraiya would have taken Naruto and raised him himself.

"Fuurinji-sama. It's been a long time." The white-haired sage greeted, until he saw Miu.

"Well, hello, pretty young lady!" He all but shouted in glee until a glare from Hayato told him that it wasn't a good idea.

"What brings you here, Jiraiya?" Sarutobi asked him to clear the air.

"My informants have told me that Orochimaru and Suna will attack during these exams and that my godson is in the finals. I heard what that bastard Hatake did to Naruto's training and I'll deal with him personally. That brat never did understand that it wasn't always all about him, no matter how Minato tried getting through to him." Jiraiya growled.

_**BACK WITH NARUTO**_

Naruto was arguing with Ebisu, who had come to lecture Naruto on the basics of ettiquete as per Kakashi's instructions. "Just get out of my way! I need to go train and manners won't help me! What am I gonna do, politely ask Neji to not kill me?" He asked incredulously.

"Manners are a cornerstone for every shinobi! A shortcut to becoming a good, upstanding ninja of Konoha. Since you were only an orphan, Kakashi saw fit to have me instruct you in ettiquete for the month until the finals. He wants you to at least lose with grace." Ebisu told him in a smug tone.

Naruto seethed at what this arrogant ass was lording over him. This ass was rubbing his orphan status in his face, and so was Kakashi. He was about to cold cock the jerk off until a an ANBU appeared before them.

"Neko-neesan? What's up? Does the old man need to see me?" Naruto asked her. He remembered this ANBU. She was always nice to him and saved him a couple of time when he was small, not to mention she taught him about stealth, something that all of Konoha cursed due to the fact that he could pull off pranks without getting caught now.

"Hai. Come with me please." She told him softly until Ebisu stopped them roughly.

"Hold on there! Kakashi said..." He began to yell until she had her ninjato at his throat in half a heartbeat.

"I already know what you two are trying to do and it sickens me. If I weren't ANBU, I'd train and look after the boy myself. Now go away and tell Kakashi this, should he try to sabotage his growth again, I will make him pay." She hissed while resheathing her blade and turning to Naruto.

"Come, Naruto-kun. I'll take you to the Hokage's office." Neko told Naruto, putting a hand on his shoulder as she teleported them to the Hokage's office.

_**BACK TO THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE...AGAIN**_

Just as Jiraiya was finished going over what he knew of the impending invasion of the village, there was a knocking at the door. _"Hokage-sama, I have brought Naruto-kun as request."_ A voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Come in." Sarutobi ordered.

The door opened to reveal a cat masked ANBU standing next to a blond haired boy with a look of defeat and despair on his face. "Oi, jiji. What's up?"

"Ah, Naruto-kun. Glad you could join us on such short notice." Sarutobi greeted warmly.

"Not like I was busy, anyway." Naruto muttered with venom in his tone that made them all wince.

"I already know about what your so-called sensei did to you, Naruto-kun, and trust me when I say that he will pay dearly for his blatant favortism. For right now thought, I have some people here that would like to meet you." The old Hokage told him with a smile.

Hayato walked up to the boy and knelt down a far as he could, but still towered over the vertically challenged boy. " Hello, Naruto-chan. I am Hayato Fuurinji and this is my granddaughter, Miu. We already know that your sensei abandoned you and have heard the more intimate details of your life and nightmare of a team. Before I say anything else, I must tell you about us. I am your father's uncle, making you my grand nephew and Miu-chan here your cousin and we would like to train you and take you in." He told the boy with a smile.

Naruto went numb with shock. He had relatives? Family? All this time, but they never came forward? The boy found his voice after a few moments, but lowered his head in sorrow. "Didn't you...want me?" He asked in a small voice that was on the verge of tears, conveying a sadness and sorrow that no child should ever have.

Hayato understood why the boy was so upset. It must have been very difficult growing up all alone with the very beast that nearly wiped out the village sealed within him and being hated for it. However, within him, Hayato sensed a strength and will that easily surpassed any that he'd ever felt before. If forged correctly, he would be truly surpass himself someday. _'For all that the boy has suffered, he remains so strong. Minato and Kushina would be so proud.'_ He thought with a sad smile.

"It's not that, Naruto-chan. You see, we were told that you had died the night of the sealing, but Saru here informed us that you were alive. There were others who would have taken you in, but something went terribly wrong. Saru, I believe that you should explain this to him." The Ryozanpaku elder told the boy, then the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun, the reason that no one took you in was because the council and another who wished to take up this office announced that you were dead and in your place, left the Kyuubi which is sealed within you safely. The council wanted you dead, but I managed to the details of your true birth were covered up, you would be spared. I truly regret that decision, because you parents had very good friends that would have taken you in without a second thought. Due to this, two of them left the village and the rest closed themselves away. The rest that did know and remained were forced to remain silent. Your parents also had two betrothal contracts for you to the daughters of two very prestigious clans, the Hyuuga and the Li clans. I will personally inform these people after we are done here, but for now, we will focus on your training. This man here is Jiraiya of the Sannin, who will oversee your ninjutsu training and introduce you to the sealing arts." He indicated to the tall, white-haired man.

Jiraiya's eyes lit up as the cue to introduce himself came up. "My name is one that can hush a crying child, make th ladies quiver in delight and my enemies tremble with fear! I am the holy sage of Mount Myoboku! I am Master Jiraiya!" He announced while doing a wierd kabuki dance, one that made Naruto snigger, then laugh out loud.

"HAHAHA! That was a good one! I'm gonna like this guy!" He laughed whole heartedly.

Sarutobi pinched his nose. "Jiraiya, you're STILL doing that strange introduction? No matter. I believe that you should tell the boy who you really are. He deserves to know."

Jiraiya's mirth and playfulness faded into a grim smile. "Naruto, I...I'm...your Godfather." He choked out. It was hard to say it. After all, what could you possibly say to a child you were entrusted with, but never got to meet in person?

"W-what?"

"I'm your Godfather, kid. In fact, I was the one who named you. I know that nothing can make up for th years that I missed, but I would like to train you as well, and pass down some things that I taught to your father that made him famous, along with a couple of birthrights that rightfully belong to you." Jiraiya told his godson.

"S-so, if you're my godfather, you knew my parents..."

"Yes, I knew them. However, I can't tell you about them now. Maybe later on over a bowl of ramen." Jiraiya told him.

"Why not now?"

"Because we don't know who else could be listening. If the wrong people found out before we were ready, it will bring some real trouble. But believe this...If you make Chuunin, I'll tell you everything you want to know." He bargained with the boy.

Naruto's face lit up with a dazzling smile filled to the brim with determination. "Awright! Just you wait Kyoufu! I'll make Chuunin for sure!" He announced cheerfully, his bright spirit showing through once again.

Jiraiya smiled widely and proudly. He was happy that his godson acknowledged him and proud of the spirit that he was showing. _'Just like his mother. A real handful, but he has his father's drive and determination. An otherwise perfect blend of his parents...Wait, somethings wrong here. His chakra flow seems messed up somehow...'_

"Naruto, could you channel some chakra through your seal? I need to see something." He told the boy seriously.

Naruto looked at Miu cautiously, but Hayato put his fears to rest. "She already knows about the Kyuubi, Naruto-chan." He reassured the boy, with Miu giving him a warm smile.

"I do, Naruto-kun. I know that it must take a lot of heart to keep it at bay and I'm proud of you for that." She told him softly.

Naruto felt much more at ease and did as he was asked, lifting his shirt and jacket to expose his seal. Jiraiya inspected the seal closely and found the abnormality. _'Gogyo Fuuin...The only people who know that spell are myself, sensei and ...Orochimaru. That bastard...'_ He growled. Fooling around with a jinchuuriki's seal without knowing what you're doing was very dangerous and foolhardy. He could have easily released the beast and killed them all. He closed his eyes and concentraited, igniting his fingertips with chakra.

_**GOGYO FUUIN : KAI!**_

Jiraiya thrust his fingers into the seal, releaseing the spell Orochimaru had on him and freeing up his chakra control. The force of the thrust threw Naruto's small frame back until his new cousin appeared behind him and caught him. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Miu asked with no small amount of concern.

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Miu-chan." He thinked her as he walked over toward Jiraiya again.

"What was that? Was it what that snake freak did to me?" He asked Sarutobi, who nodded.

"Yes. One of my other students, Orochimaru, did that to you. I know that I told Kakashi about that, but it seems as though he ignored it for the Uchiha. He will have much to answer for when I see him next." The old Hokage growled, letting out a sharp burst of Ki to no one in particular.

"However, the fact that you defeated the Inuzuka heir with that extra burden on you has proven how much you have grown in strength. I estimate that the seal reduced you down to maybe 30% of your maximum strength at best. I'm very proud of you and if you keep this up, making Chuunin this time around will not be beyond you. The other Kage and Daimyo's knew about what happened to you and were very impressed with what you could do." Sarutobi informed the boy with a proud grin.

Naruto flushed with embarrassment. "Maybe Sakura-chan will forget that teme and let me take her out on a date if I make Chuunin! Yeah!" He cheered.

Sarutobi shook his head. Jiraiya, Hayato and Miu all wondered what that was about and asked him. "Sakura Haruno is his teammate and the girl he has a crush on. Unfortunately, she is an Uchiha fangirl, quite a fanatical one at that. Every interaction with her has led to the boy getting punched around and insulted. He truly does have feelings for the girl, but she all but tramples on them." He told them sadly.

Hayato sighed, Miu clenched her fists in anger, causing her knuckles to pop loudly. "If she does that to him again, that girl will pay dearly." Miu stated with barely maintained calm.

Jiraiya was reminded of himself back when he was younger when he chased after Tsunade. He really did have feelings for her and still does, but she would never return them. It made his heart ache for the boy, how he had grown up not knowing what love was and was confusing this girl's beatings for affection.

Sarutobi had just the cure for this, however. "Naruto-kun, if you remember, I told you that your parents had marriage contracts out for you to two clans. If you would like, we could go and meet with them."

"B-but what about Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto, in all seriousness, has she even shown you any kindness? Any at all?" He asked the boy, whose face fell. He didn't want to shatter the boy's hopes like that, but it had to be done to open his eyes to something far better. One of the girls who is betrothed to him he knows has had a crush on him for a long time now and would treat him right.

"No, jiji, but maybe after I make Chuunin, she'll..." He tried to argue but knew he was beat. "So, she really hates me?" He asked sadly.

"I'm sorry to say that as long as Uchiha Sasuke is around, she will never see the wonderful person she's had under her nose this whole time."

Naruto's face fell in disappoinment, but remembered the girls mentioned. "H-hey, jiji. Can I meet them?" He asked hopefully.

Sarutobi smiled. "Of course you can. We can all go. Hayato has agreed to become your legal guardian, being your only blood relative remaining of age to do so. You also have others to meet."

"Cool! Let's get going then!" He chirped as they got underway.

_ A/N: First chapter of my newest brainchild done! I haven't seen a good crossover of HSD Kenichi and Naruto, so I decided to do one. I just took in how much Miu looked like she could be related to Naruto, both having golden blond hair and deep blue eyes and worked that angle. I will also have all of the zany masters in here, along with a couple of others. Sorry folks, but no Kenichi in this one._

_ Oh well, I hope that you all like this story! If you add this to your favorites or alerts, do the decent thing and leave a damn review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey there, y'all! I'm back with the next chapter of HSD Naruto! Now, that Hayato has explained a few things to his newly found grand-nephew, things can progress forward. Now, Naruto's going to meet the girls in question. One from HSD Kenichi's world and one from Narutoverse. Also, I'll be interesting to see who's related to who._

_**KONOHA HOSPITAL**_

The party arrived at the hospital in record time, with Jiraiya and Sarutobi using the Shunshin to teleport there and Miu and Naruto traveling via piggyback on Hayato. Miu slid off of his massive back and help Naruto get down, who was dazed but was grinning. "That was fun! Let's do that again sometime!" He cheered.

Hayato laughed heartily at his nephew's spirit. "Okay, maybe later." He whispered conspiritorially to the boy.

The party walked into the hospital with Naruto in the lead, only for him to be stopped by one of the doctors. "What are YOU doing here?" He sneered at the boy until he saw the Hokage and his guests behind the boy, all of them glaring at him.

"N-n-never mind." He stuttered as he spen away to go and check his pants. Sarutobi calmly walked up to the desk. "Could you please tell us which room Hinata Hyuuga is in?" He asked politely.

"Hi-Hinata? She's one of the girls?" He exclaimed.

"Yes. She is. Is there something wrong?"

Naruto blushed slightly. "N-no. It's just that...She was a classmate and she, well, when ever she came near me she always turned away real quick. Then, at the Chunnin exams, she gave me this bottle of salve that Kurenai-sensei said Hinata made herself for me. I just don't get it."

_'Heh...This girl has a crush on him and he doesn't even know it! You lucky boy...'_ Jiraiya thought. "Sounds like this girl has a thing for you, kiddo. If she's anything like her mother, she'll be a real beauty when she's older." Jiraiya ribbed his godson.

"In room 322 in the West wing, Hokage-sama." The duty nurse answered.

"Let's go." He motioned to the party in tow as they moved to the room in question.

Upon reaching the room, they noticed that there were people already there, with some light crying going on inside. They entered the room to find Hinata clutching her father while crying and he was trying to console her as best he could.

Hiashi noticed the room's new occupants. "Oh, Hokage-sama, Fuuinji-sama. How may we help you?" The Hyuuga head greeted them gracefully.

"What ever could be the matter with young Hinata? Does this have to do with her match in the Chuunin Exams?" Sarutobi asked.

"Well, yes. The elder council has seen fit to removed Hinata from the Main house and to brand her with a Caged Bird Seal due to how she lost to Neji. On top of that, they want to marry her off to the prince of Kuma no Kuni. The problem with that is that he's almost MY age! I just wish there was something we could do..." Hiashi told him sadly.

Sarutobi just gave him a grin as he told the Hyuuga head and girl what had just been revealed to Naruto. Needless to say, the shy girl fainted and Hiashi got a huge grin on his face. "This...This is the answer to her problem! His son lives! I must tell Tenmon! He will be thrilled!" Hiashi exclaim in unrestrained joy.

"Naruto, my boy...You have just saved Hinata from a horrible fate. I cannot thank you enough..." He told the confused boy as he hugged his future son-in-law.

"I...I was just told about this a few minutes ago. I really liked Sakura-chan, but...Jiji helped me see something and I'd like to give this a try." he told the Hyuuga patriarche honestly.

_'He really is your son, Minato, Kushina.'_ Hiashi thought happily.

"We will be informing Tenmon next, Hiashi. Tsunade will be contacted and dragged back here if we have to. Now, I believe we have a certain future bride to awaken." Hayato told them while giving a sly grin.

After a few moments, they managed to bring Hinata back around. "F-father...What happened? H-H-Hokage-sama c-came in a-and said that Naruto-kun was e-e-engaged to me..." She said in a daze.

"It wasn't a dream, my daughter. You see, a very good friend of mine and I decided to engage the two of you. We felt that since we got along so well, you two would as well. I thought that he died along with his father on that fateful day, but Naruto lives. It seems that we don't have to worry, since it seems that you are quite taken with the boy on your own." Hiashi chuckled, while the girl's face blushed bright red.

"H-hey, Hinata-chan. How're you feeling?" He asked her with concern.

"I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun..." She replied as the two began to talk. The adults watched the way the two children interacted with a smile. There was a lot of blushing and nerviousness, but they seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with each other with each passing minute. Unfortunately, the time to leave arose.

"Naruto-chan, we have to be going now. You can come by and see her later if you wish." Hayato told the boy as they prepared to go.

Naruto sighed. "Well, I'd better be going now, Hinata-chan. I'll see you again soon!" He told her cheerfully. However, as he rose from the bedside, Hinata did the last thing anyone would expect from her : She pulled him back and kissed his cheek.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun." She told him shyly as he was dragged from the room in a near catatonic state by his godfather and grand uncle.

As soon as he left the building, Hinata let out an ear splitting squeal before passing out again, a huge smile on her face. Hiashi sighed and chuckled as he went over his next move to make now that he can actually help his daughter. _'Now...I can finally fulfill my pledge to you, Minato my old friend. I know that your son will make my Hinata very happy and treat her well. All that's left to do is deal with the council.'_ Hiashi thought as he began to formulate a plan to deal with the meddling council of the Hyuuga.

_**LI FAMILY COMPOUND**_

Another wild ride across the village saw them in front of the Li family compound. It was a large, spacious chunk of land that had a main manor house with large gardens and an equally large training ground attached to it. It had very traditional stylings to it, that meaning it had tatami in nearly all of the rooms save the kitchen and a spacious open air bath. Naruto was floored by how big the place was. "Wow...This house is bigger than my whole apartment complex!" He exclaimed in awe.

The two guardsmen at the gates chuckled at his statement as Sarutobi walked up to the gates. "Ah, Hokage-sama! How may we help you?" One guard asked politely.

"Yes, the Fuurinji's, Jiraiya, this boy and myself have some business with the master of the house. Is Tenmon in by any chance?" The old Hokage asked.

The other guard was floored by how many important people were at their gates this day. "Ah, yes. He just returned a few moments ago, Hokage-sama! I shall guide you all in." The guard replied respectfully as he opened the gate and let them inside.

The inside of the mansion had Naruto gaping at every turn. It was expected since Naruto lived a very...humble lifestyle, if one could call living in a pest infested, run down apartment on in the red light district humble. It really drove home just how much he never had, but the money didn't really matter to him. He just wanted a family, plain and simple.

Finally, they came to a large study where they all came to a halt. "This is Tenmon-sama's study. I shall leave you all now and have a good day." The guard bowed as he went back to his duties.

Sarutobi and Hayato took the lead as they walked into the study. Li Tenmon wasn't terribly tall, but not short either. He looked to be the same age as Hinata's father, but had very defined muscle that was noticeable under his tunic. The man noticed them a called out.

"Ah, Hiruzen! Hayato and Jiraiya! What could bring you all to my home?" He asked merrily until his eyes fell in on Naruto.

"H-he couldn't be...Could he...?" He asked until Sarutobi and Hayato filled him in on what had happened, then his grin threatened to split his face in two. He snatched the boy up into a powerful hug that made Naruto's back pop in several places.

'_Holy crap! This old guy is really strong!'_ He thought as he started turning blue.

Tenmon put him down and let him get some air. "I was told that you were dead...That council will have much to answer for." He growled until his smile returned.

"I assume you want to know my position on the betrothal contract?" He asked, to which Hayato and Jiraiya nodded.

"Well, I am happy to say that I intend to throw my full support into it! Allow me to call Raichi in here." He told them as he called for his daughter.

After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a girl just a bit older than Naruto and a bit taller with blue eyes, with her long blond hair done up in twin pigtails and cute freckles. She was dressed in a white sundress and sandals when she walked in. Naruto's jaw dropped when she smiled at him as she walked by. She walked up to her father. "Yes, father? You called for me?" She asked.

"Ah yes..." He began as he told her of the marriage contract with the son of a good friend of his. She looked unsure of what her father was telling her until he pointed out that the young man she passed was the one who would be her husband.

"Really? Thank you, father!" She squealed happily as she hugged Naruto tightly, making him blush an atomic red. This was another very pretty girl that was to marry HIM. Not Sasuke or anyone else, but him! This was turning out to be the best day of his life! Naruto nearly melted on the spot as she came closer.

"This is the greatest day of my life..." He muttered as he fainted.

Raichi was having the finer points of the betrothal explained to her, as well as Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki. She was shocked at first when she heard that he had the demon that nearly destroyed Konoha Sealed within him, but she reasoned that he was the jailor of the beast and a hero for how he continues to suffer to keep them all safe. The blond girl knew that something was off with how everyone treated him, but the truth blew her away.

Back to the subject of the betrothal, she didn't seem to mind that she was sharing him with Hinata. In fact she couldn't have been happier. She had known Hinata since she was a toddler and they had been good friends ever since. She had been in the class just ahead of her's and knew of Naruto, was well. She admitted that he was a clown, but still thought that he was kind of cute and really nice. She also heard that he was taking his shinobi training very seriously. Now, she heard of his victory against the Inuzuka heir with most of his chakra sealed and came to be very impressed with him.

Raichi was by no means an Uchiha fangirl. In fact, she had a strong dislike for the brooding boy and his clan in general. They had constantly tried to steal secrets from her families martial arts styles through shady arranged marriages and outright theft via Sharingan. She was originally requested by the Uchiha to wed Sasuke to further tap into their powerful fighting styles, but her father refused them outright. Then, she met the class clown and developed a semi-crush on the blond ball of energy, but his attention seemed to be held by a rabid Uchiha fangirl, Haruno Sakura. She frowned and growled at the treatment the kind hearted boy recieved from the pink haired banshee, but since she was a genin already, she couldn't really see him all that much and even then, he was near impossible to track down.

Naruto was being revived by Miu when Hayato shouldered the boy. "Well, I believe it is time to go. Thank you, Tenmon, for your hospitality." The massive old man called out as the troupe left the manor grounds.

When they were gone, Raichi sighed loudly, face resting in her palms as she watched them leave from the window of the study. Tenmon couldn't help but notice her longing sigh. "Is there something the matter, dear?" He asked her.

A content grin spread across her face. She explained to him that she knew him from the Academy and she already liked him somewhat. She was glad that he turned out to be the one she as betrothed to and that he seemed to like her, too.

Tenmon couldn't have been happier with that answer. _'Minato, my old friend. Our children will be very happy together, I just know it.' _He thought to himself as he went back to his paperwork.

His peace didn't last too long, as his door flew open again. "Uncle Tenmon! A youthful good day to you!" The intruder nearly yelled.

"Ugh. Lee, why must you always do that?" Tenmon sighed. It was his third door that month the boy broke. _'Damn...Doesn't ANYTHING slow this boy down?'_ The Li family head thought as he rubbed his temples.

Tenmon's sister, Mei Lin, had met a man from the Maito family and fell in love with him. That man was the elder brother of Gai, Maito Han. Soon, they were blessed (?) with a healthy boy they named Lee. Li Lee would have been just too damn odd, but luckily Mei took on the Maito name. When Lee and Raichi were only a year old, the Kyuubi attacked and killed Lee's parents and Tenmon's wife. Lee's care would have gone to his father's brother, but he was only 14 at the time and a Chuunin. Tenmon took the boy in until Gai was stable enough to care for him. After Lee graduated from the Academy, his care went over to Gai, who was also his Jounin sensei, but the boy still came over to say hello to his uncle and cousin every now and then.

_**RYOZANPAKU COMPOUND**_

The group all arrived at the compound just after sundown. "Well, it's a little late to be training, so we will get started in the morning." Hayato told his new nephew.

"I will have movers come to Naruto's apartment and box things up to have them moved here." Sarutobi informed them, to which the elder nodded. Sarutobi and Jiraiya both flickered away for the evening and left the boy to his family.

"Whoa...I'm gonna be living here?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Well, uh, yes. I did take over guardianship of you and what better way to train you than if you actually live with us from now on. Now, on to meet the others." Hayato told the boy as he pushed open the ridiculously huge gate with only a finger, making the boy's eyes bulge in awe.

"Wow...That was awesome, ojii-san! You didn't even use chakra!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Hayato had the decency to blush slightly as Miu sighed, knowing that he was showing off a bit for his recently found nephew/grandson. "Well, Naruto-chan, with our training, you will be able to do the same over time. We just need to build up your body through dedicated training!" Hayato proclaimed with a fist aloft and a wierd light in his eyes.

Naruto was just so excited that he didn't really think about what that harsh training would include, so he just agreed with his new family and followed them to the dining room. They had stopped by Ichiraku's and picked up several bowls of ramen to go for dinner that night. Naruto offered to help set everything up for when the masters arrived, to which Miu accepted with a pat on his head. She was just as excited about this as he was. She had practically gained a little brother to talk with and have around to help.

After a few minutes of waiting, a small throng of people filed into the small dining room. The first thing they all noticed was a short blond boy that was sitting next to Miu. The largest with a scar across his face spoke up first. "Oi, who's the new brat?" He asked Hayato.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto and he will be staying here for a while. His sensei abandoned him for the last Uchiha. He has to face that Hyuuga kid, the supposed prodigy and the way he is now, he doesn't stand a chance." Hayato explained as he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-chan, from the right, we have Kouetsuji Akisame, an artisan and Jiujitsu expert." He said, indicating a tall man with a mousy moustache with a gi and hakama pants.

_'He looks kinda strict, like a lot of the Academy instructors.'_

"Next, we have our Karate user and self-proclaimed 100th dan brawler, Shio Sakaki." He said again, this time pointing to the large man with muscles the size of his head and the scar on his face.

_'Whoa, this guy's HUGE! I wanna get big like him and Jii-san!'_

"Now, we have Ma Kensei, master of all forms of Kenpo and Kung Fu." The elder explained, indicating a rather short middle aged man in black chinese style clothes and a black hat with a bushy moustache.

_'What the hell is Kenpo?'_

"Moving on, this man here is Apachai Hopachai, master of Muay Thai and known as the Shinigami." The old man told Naruto, pointing to a bronze skinned giant that waved at him with a large grin.

_'Hmm...He seems friendly enough.'_

"Finally, the last is Kousaka Shigure...Where did she go?" He asked the rest of the masters.

Akisame sighed. "I bet she's on the roof again. Should I get her?"

"No. I need to speak with her about something of grave importance, you all as well. But for now, we eat." Hayato announced as they all dug in to their ramen.

After dinner, Naruto help Miu with the dishes and cleaning up. "Well, I gotta do something to help, Miu-neechan." He explained.

The blond girl was touched by the fact that he felt comfortable enough around her to call her his Nee-chan and by the fact that he was so helpful. After the clean up was finished, she showed him to his new room and bade him goodnight. As Naruto felt sleep coming on, he felt safe there, like no one would come to harm him in his sleep like they would have in his old apartment. After a few more minutes, he finally let sleep take him, smiling all the while. Miu sat watching him with a soft smile from his window sill.

"Goodnight, Otouto-kun. Sweet dreams." She whispered as she slipped off to her own room.

Meanwhile, down in the dojo area, Hayato called all of the sensei together for a meeting. He even got the reclusive Shigure to show herself. "Now that you are all here, I have something of grave importance to tell you all. This concerns that young boy I brought in this evening and who he really is."

"Oh yeah, Naruto something...Uzumaki! Yes! Uzumaki Naruto, that was his name!" Kensei called out.

Shigure froze at the mention of the name. "U-uzu...maki?" She asked in a whispering, quivering voice.

Hayato knew that she would recognize the name. "Yes, Shigure. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He is my grand nephew whom I thought was lost the night he was born, October 10th." He told them all, letting the fact sink in before he continued.

"W-was his mother's name...Kushina?" The weapons woman asked quietly.

"Yes. His father was Minato Namikaze, my nephew and the Yondaime Hokage..." The elder explained to the sensei's as he told them of Naruto's life up to this point. The gentle giant Apachai was beginning to scowl, Kensei's face fell, Akisame showed a look of sadness, Sakaki trembled in anger, but Shigure had the strangest reaction of all. The emotionless woman actually burst into tears as she realize just who Naruto really was. This really freaked out the other masters, who had never seen her show any emotion other than complete apathy.

"I thought he was dead..." She repeated until she calmed herself.

"Why? Why did they lie to me? Why would the council want me to think my otouto was dead?" She asked in a deadly tone as she reached for her katana, the Akabanetou.

"Shigure, calm yourself! Slaughtering the council will not help him, nor would Kushina or Minato want you to. What has happened has happened. The most we can do is honor Minato's final wish, since it seems the rest of the village has all but spit upon it." Hayato told her forcefully, managing to get her to control herself.

Shigure felt that she had lost her will to go on once she had been informed from the council that her foster family had all died that night. That night Kousaka Shigure had died and left an emotionally barren woman in her place. She had all but killed her emotions and became one of the finest ANBU to ever grace their ranks. Even the vaunted Uchiha Itachi could not defeat her, and Hatake Kakashi couldn't even touch her. A year ago, she decided to retire from the ANBU ranks and lay low for a while, taking up the occational mission to keep her skills up. Through it all, she was still suffering from the loss of the prople she had come to see and love as her family. Now, she finds that she had been lied to all of this time. The one that would have been her little brother still lived, but he was used as the council's scapegoat for the Kyuubi attack. The boy she longed to know and love as her own had been subjected to so much hatred and evil, yet he remained strong through it all. After Hayato finished explaining who he was as a person, she couldn't help but feel pride well up within her. He really was just like the woman that she saw as her mother.

"I want...to see him. Please...Let me see him." Shigure pleaded with the elder.

"It's late, Shigure. He's had a long day and an even longer one tomorrow. He still doesn't know just who his parents were, but if he manages to get promoted to Chuunin from these exams, Jiraiya will tell him everything. Until then, we have to keep this knowledge under wraps. It that understood?" He requested of them all, to which they agreed.

Akisame and Kensei were both disgusted by what the villages council had done to an innocent boy while practically worshipping the Uchiha, who had done nothing but lie and steal from their comrades while wanting more. They had basically commited treason, but had managed to worm their way out of punishment for their heinous crimes. At least the Uchiha paid for their crimes when they attempted to go too far, but the last Uchiha left was slowly proving to be just as bad, if not worse. Apachai loved children and despite his size, he was very gentle with them. He also abhored the abuse of children and Naruto's treatment was the worst he'd ever heard of. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew that the elder wouldn't lie to them, especially about something so serious. Sakaki may look rough, but inside he was a big softy. He like being around kids too and anyone who abused them earned a death sentence in his book.

All of the sensei went to bed for the night with one thing on their minds. _'This boy has a strong heart. We have faith that he will survive the training.'_

Shigure lept into the window of her adopted little brother's room silently and crept over to his bed. She took a good look at him and had to restrain herself from snatching him up into a tight embrace. _'He looks like mother and father so much...I'm so sorry...I'll try to make up for all of the years that I've missed.'_ The once emotionless weapons mistress thought sadly as she kissed him lightly on his forehead. She then retreated from his room as quickly and silently as she came.

_A/N: Second chapter down! I know there was no training in this chapter, but that will happen in the next chapter. For now, Naruto's getting situated and comfortable before the sensei put him through their version of hell on earth. I hope you all like what I did with Shigure's charachter. I needed to have something to tie her into all of this and she was young enough to be adopted by Naruto's parents. She would have been 10 or 11 years old at the time of the Kyuubi attack. Also, I hope no one was put off by Hinata and Raichi sharing Naruto, since the fathers wanted their families joined, but if anyone could make such a thing work, it would be Naruto._


	3. Chapter 3

_Wassup? JAYSEN here with the next chapter of HSD Naruto. Naruto's pretty much settled into his new home and will now begin his tort...training with the masters. His life was getting shittier and shittier until he nearly hit rock bottom in his own sensei abandoning him. Now, in the span of a couple of days, his life made a miraculous turn around with finding out that he had family, who took him in, his Godfather is none other than one of the Densetsu no Sannin himself, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, and learning that he has not one, but TWO very cute fiancees and that they already liked him._

_Now..._

_READ THE F%$ING FIC!_

_**THE NEXT MORNING, RYOZANPAKU COMPOUND**_

It was barely four in the morning when Naruto recieved a tap on his shoulder. "Mmmn...Miu-neechan, that you?" He asked sleepily as he faced the person to did the tapping, only to find the wiry moustache man from the night before was in his face.

_**"GET UP."**_ Was Akisame's command, light seemingly coming from his eyes making him think it was a Genjutsu.

"AHHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL?" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing his clock to check the time as it was still dark.

"FOUR IN THE MORNING? WHAT'D YOU WAKE ME FOR?" He yelled.

"Because, it's morning." Was the moustached man's simple reply, pointing to his window.

Naruto looked outside of his window to see a crudely drawn picture of a sunrise with a few cows in the distance, held up by a pair of bandaged bronze hands. Naruto looked down at the holder of the picture who smiled back up at him. "Apachai-san?" The short blonde exclaimed.

"Apa! Ohayo, Naruto-chan! Now you can play with Apachai!" The Muay Thai master cheered merrily as he hopped down from his perch.

_'What kind of nuthouse did I wind up in?'_ He thought incredulously as he was hurried through the process of getting ready for his first day of training. As he reached for his signature jumpsuit, Akisame's hand stopped him.

"No. You won't be wearing that eyesore anymore. Here. Put this on." The moustached man told him, handing him a dojo gi. The gi was a simple white and came with white pants that were tied off with a white belt. They were actually a much better fit for him than his jumpsuit, which was baggy on him and way too big for his slight frame. To be brutally honest, he never liked wearing it in the first place, but it was all he could afford.

The Jiujitsu master took in his new student's body type and build with a frown. There were tell tale signs of malnutrition and many near healed scars on his body that he believed Naruto wore the jumpsuit to cover up. It was a miracle that Naruto had such supple muscle mass for his thin frame.

_'Hmm...The potential IS there. Let's test him out.'_ He reasoned as he brought Naruto down to the dojo. On the way down, he was instructed to make several Kage Bunshin and send them to the Hokage's office, where they would meet with Jiraiya for Ninjutsu and control training. The boy did as he was told, creating twenty clones.

"Alright. You guys heard the man! Get on over to the Old Man's office and see Kyoufu! And no stopping for ramen, either!" He ordered the clones, who all rogered up in unison before taking off in a mini-stampede.

Upon reaching the dojo, he saw the rest of the sensei sitting off to the side, with his granduncle with them and his cousin in a gi top and spandex shorts standing in the middle. "Eh? What's going on, nee-chan?" He asked them confused.

Shigure had a lot of trouble controlling herself from telling Naruto everything and snatching him up, but she kept herself in check. _'This will only help him and make him stronger. I WILL help you get stronger, Otouto-kun. This much I promise you.'_ She swore to herself.

Hayato cleared his throat to get things started. "Naruto, this is to determine where you stand as of right now and what we should teach you. Miu will be you opponent. Do not be afraid to attacking her, but be prepared to fight as if your life depended on it." The elder told him seriously as he signalled the beginning of the match.

"Uh, wha?" Was all he had time to say before Miu launched herself at him with blinding speed.

Naruto hastily dodged her opening blow, which was a roundhouse kick to his head but left himself open for her follow up. She caught him full in the face with a full knuckle punch and launched him back into the dojo wall. He recovered in mid-flight, stopping himself with the wall and using that to launch back into the fight. Naruto WAS quick and had decent raw power, no doubts about that, but he had no style at all, more like he was fighting on instinct alone. That was a fatal flaw that his sensei should have spotted and corrected, but either failed to do so, or completely ignored the problem.

However, since he had no set style or discipline, he was essentially a blank slate to work with. That would make teaching him anything new that much easier to do, along with his natural curiosity and tenacity. All that, added together with his jaw-dropping stamina and his borderline regenerative healing and recovery, he was the perfect student for their...extreme teaching style, meaning he'd have a good chance of actually surviving the training. The senseis were nearly drooling at that aspect and thinking maybe that dumb fox was actually useful for once in the boy's life.

Back to the fight, Naruto was getting smacked around quite soundly by the much faster and more skilled Miu. The blond girl didn't really give him much breathing room to set up many counters and the ones he did get off, were wild and ineffective. She got the same vibe as the sensei's about Naruto's training, or lack there of. '_It's like his training was completely neglected. The way he punches and kicks are all wrong. His balance is way off and he flounders for what to do next. However, his reflexes are lightning fast and his attacks pack a wallop when they are performed properly, not to mention the fact that he's naturally extremely agile and flexible, kind of like me. He has a lot of work ahead of him, but I have faith in him. He IS a member my family, after all.'_ She thought with a sigh.

The fight rolled on for another few minutes until Naruto dodged a punch and found an opening. Not wanting to waste it, he reached out to grapple with her, only to get a handful of her breasts in his hands. She stopped immeadiately, as did he. But before she could even move or think Naruto lept away to the opposite side of the dojo like he had been burned and began to sputter out apologies profusely.

"I-i-i-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I won't ever touch you again, I swear! Don't hit me Sakura-chan!" He cried out in habit. The usual course of action was that during the sparing sessions he was paired with Sakura, everytime he managed to get in a clean hit, she got really angry and beat him severely, calling him a filthy pervert for touching her. She did it so much that it became a conditioned reaction to accidentally touching almost any female.

Miu was at a total loss as to what happened. She wasn't going to hit him for that since this was a sparring session and contact was expected, even if what he did was a complete accident. From what she could gather, this was a conditioned reaction and from the name he blurted out, she knew who was responsible for doing such damage to his already fragile psyche. As she tried to get close to him and ask what was wrong, he scurried away from her in fear. Miu clenched her fists in rage and it was taking all of her self-control for going out an tracking the pink-haired bully down and making her pay dearly for nearly mentally and emotionally crippling one of the only two remaining members of her family that she had left. Swooping in quickly, she snatched the shorter blond into a tight embrace as she rocked him gently. Naruto tried to wriggle free and fight it, but Miu held firm.

"Shhh...It's okay, Naruto-kun. I'm not angry with you, so just try to settle down. It was only an accident." The young woman soothed the boy as he stopped struggleing and got himself back to normal. As he calmed himself, she gently let him go, Naruto standing up slowly.

"T-Thanks, Onee-chan. I needed that." He sniffled lightly as he thanked her.

"It was no problem, Naruto-kun. You're my family and a family always helps each other." Miu told him with a radiant smile.

_'Family...I like this...Having a family...'_ He thought as he was brought out of his musings by the concerned gazes of the masters.

The sensei were all crowded around him, pondering what to do with him. Naruto instinctually averted his gaze from them, ashamed for how poorly he performed. He knew that Miu could have taken him down in only a few moves, but he knew that she was dragging it out. However, he thought that she was just toying with him, like Sasuke and Kakashi always did in their spars. Screwing his eyes shut, he braced himself for either the laughter at his expense or the long ass chewing session that sometimes followed his spars with his team, from all three teammates.

"Hmmm...I think I know how to fix this." One of the senseis, Kensei, spoke up. "Naruto-chan, please follow me." The short Kenpo master asked of him.

Stunned, Naruto got up to follow. Once outside, Kensei leaned in close to him. "So, how was it?" The short man asked his equally short new pupil.

"How was what?" Naruto asked, totally confused.

"Miu-chan's breasts! Were they soft?" The short man asked in a pervy giggle as he pulled out an agonizingly familiar orange book.

"Wha? Hey! That's the same pervy book Kakashi always reads! Besides, I don't see Miu-neechan that way, Ero-sensei!" Naruto declared, pointing his finger at the short man.

"I may be a pervert, Naruto-chan, but at least I got you back to your old self again." Kensei told the fuming boy with a grin. _'This kid's going to be a blast to tease...'_

The boy was stunned, to say the least. This guy went out of his way to help him and was even willing to be branded as a pervert to do so. _'I think I'm gonna like it here after all...'_

"Gee, um, thanks...I guess." Naruto mumbled quietly, kicking a pebble that was at his feet sheepishly.

"Don't worry, gaki. How you reacted ain't your fault. Those bastards out there in the village did some real messed up shit to you, but we're gonna help you undo it every step of the way. But..." Sakaki stated as he and the other sensei walked out from the house. Shigure was careful to control herself, but inside she was screaming for the blood of a certain pink haired girl.

Akisame finished for him. "They always say, "You have to suffer for the cure", Naruto-kun." He told Naruto, the rest of the sensei sporting grins that were borderline sadistic that were making Naruto gulp loudly. Miu knew what that look meant and sent up a small prayer for him.

_**MEANWHILE...**_

On the outskirts of the village, one will find a small waterfall that feeds a stream to the north of the village near Hokage Mountain. It is here that we find the small horde that Naruto conjured up earlier that morning working on a chakra control exercise with Jiraiya. "Come on, kid. I know you can do this. Just concentrait." The white haired Sannin coached. After around a few more minutes of trying, Naruto's clones were getting the hang of the exercise.

"Hey, Kyoufu! We're doing it it!" The clones whooped in glee as they danced on top of the water's surface.

Jiraiya looked on with a smirk. _'That kid's got some crazy stamina, making all these Shadow Clones along with doing all that physical training with those Ryozanpaku guys. He'll really be something when he's grown. Minato, Kushina, you've got one amazing kid.'_ The Sannin chuckled to himself as he called the clones over to himself.

"Hey kid! Come over here and I'll show you another cool trick!" He shouted out to the clones whose faces all lit up at the thought of learning soemthing new.

The clones nearly stampeded their way over to their Godfather. "Oh boy! What's next?" One clone exclaimed.

He had to hand it to the kid, he had a hell of a learning curve if shown properly and patiently, along with the fact that he took to everything he was taught with fascination and wonder, just his father and even himself when they were Naruto's age. "Okay, kiddo. Step back and watch this!" He announced as he began to concentrait and spin chakra in his right hand until it looked like a mini-cyclone. Once it was ready Jiraiya thrust the spinning orb of chakra into a large boulder the orb eating its way through the tough rock like Chouji at an all you can eat buffet.

_**"RASENGAN!"**_

The clones all went slack-jawed with awe. One clone found it's voice to voice their opinion of what they just bore witness to.

"The was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life!" He cheered, the rest of the clones following suit. The Sannin was glad that it drew such a reaction from his godson, hoping to impress him somehow.

"Alright kid. Calm down, now. That was the Rasengan, a jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage himself. All it is is chakra shaping and manipulation, no hand seals to use, so that Uchiha kid or Kakashi can't copy it. I know that Kakashi tried to use the same principle for his Raikiri, but he still needs handseals, makes too much noise and takes too long to generate." He told the clones as he started to pass out water balloons to them.

"Uh, what are these for?" One of them asked.

"That it for learning the first step of the Rasengan, rotation. You need to be able to spin the chakra in various directions, like a cyclone. do this and burst the balloon to complete the first exercise." He told the clones as he went to the shade of a tree to stretch out, leaving the clones to pick the exercise apart and figure it out on their own. Occasionally, he'd hear one or more of the clones curse loudly as they kept at it. Finally, after two hours, he heard the clones begin to make a ruckus.

"Hot damn! I did it!"

"Nuh uh! Show us how!"

"Come on! Show us!"

Jiraiya opened up a bleary eye to see that the clones had indeed cracked the first stage, shredding the balloons and spreading the water inside. With a groan, the 50-year old stood up to his full height and ambled over to the cheering clones. He looked up at the sky to see that they were losing daylight fast, deciding that it was time to call it a day. "Oi, kid! Come over here for a minute."

"Eh? What's up, Kyoufu?" A clone asked.

"It's time to call it quits for the day, kid. Go ahead and dispel yourselves a few at a time." He instructed as the clones nodded and obeyed, poofing away in groups of four at a time.

After the last of the clones disappeared, the Toad Sage allowed himself a smirk. "Damn, that kid burned right through the first stage of the Rasengan training in a few hours. He's already hot on Minato's heels, even if that idiot Hatake didn't train him right. The kid's a natural just like Minato, but he's got spirit like Kushina. It's almost like they're still here..." He mused to himself as he resigned himself to the nearest bar before he headed out to the hot springs for his 'research'.

"Heh, heh...Research, here I come." The great pervert giggled as he went on his merry way with an extra spring in his step.

_**BACK AT RYOUZANPAKU**_

Inside the dojo of the compound, Naruto lay in a crumpled heap. "Man...This is rough..." He wheezed as he shakily stodd back up to face his sensei at the moment, Kensei. As he did this, he contemplated the day he'd had so far.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_After he had calmed down from his small episode earlier, the masters began to iron out a training schedule for their newest student the same way they settled all their disputes, by a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Through this method, they decided that Akisame would start him off for the first two hours. Akisame and Kensei were the only two who had limited time, due to the fact that Kensei ran an Acupuncture clinic and His endurance and pain threshhold were already tremendous, so he started Naruto out on strength exercises. First, his task was to strengthen Naruto's core body, meaning his abdominal strength. For this, he suspended Naruto upside down over a fire, having him swing back and forth to avoid getting burned while Akisame himself fanned the flames._

_"How do you like my training, Naruto-kun? I call it the Dance of the Frying Squid." He told his young student serenely._

_"AAAHHH! ARE YOU NUTS? THIS HURTS LIKE HELL!" Naruto exclaimed loudly._

_"Actually Naruto-kun, I am quite sane. This exercise with build up your core strength, enabling you to put much more power behind you attacks and building up on your already impressive chakra and endureance. I assure you that there is a method to our madness, as it were." Akisame instructed as he set Naruto back to work on his exercise. Somehow, his words didn't really do much to assure the vertically challanged blond._

_After his first tort...Ahem, training session was over, it was decided that it was Apachai's turn to train him...or play depending on your point of view. The bronze skinned giant took this opportunity to introduce his new and first student to the beginnings of Muay Thai, his native fighting style from a small island nation to the southeast of the continenent they were on. Apachai slipped into the the basic stance._

_"Apa! Naruto-chan, this is the stance for Muay Thai, Tan Guard Muay." He instructed the boy as Naruto copied his stance. Since he was right-handed, not left like Apachai, his left leg and fist were in front with his right in back, both hands up in a basic defensive posture. Apachai made small correction here and there until he was satisfied._

_"Now, do what Apachai do!" The tall man chirped as he went through the basic movements and attacks of the style, which seemed oddly natural to the boy. For today, he was introduced to the basic punches of the style, or __**Chok**_. _From there, Naruto was put in front of a training post to practice for the rest of his time._

_'Huh...This guy's not so bad and I'm really getting into this style!' Naruto thought as he continued to work._

_Unfortunately, Apachai was prone to getting bored easily and walked up to the training post next to his new student. _

_**"APA!"**__ He shouted as he kicked straight up, sending his log into low orbit._

_Naruto, who was at Ground Zero for the training implement's impromptu launch, stood rooted to his spot in both awe and sheer terror. _

_'WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY?' He shouted in his mind, his voice and basic motor functions taking a small break and possibly running for their lives at this point._

_Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Fire Country, where our two Teme's are currently training..._

_"Sasuke, activate your Sharingan for what I'm about to show you..." Kakashi instructed Emo Pants the Great, a.k.a Sasuke._

_"What for?" He asked with disdain._

_Kakashi didn't get the chance to answer as a large object was screaming down upon them, landing directly on Kakashi. Sasuke sweatdropped for a moment. _

_"Was that what was supposed to happen?" He asked in a bored tone as he inspected the object, which turned out to be a training post, but it was charred from re-entering the earth's atmoshere. _

_"Where the hell did this come from? No matter. Hey, Kakashi, get up and give me more jutsu." He told the broken form of his teacher, lightly prodding him with his foot._

_Back at Ryouzanpaku, Apachai's time was up and the next person took over. This one was was more reluctant to train with the boy, stating that he "Didn't train brats." _

_This naturally put a bee under Naruto's bonnet as he stomped into the living area to fetch his reluctant sensei. "OI! Sakaki-sensei! Let's go!" He told the massive and scarred man._

_"GO AWAY KID! I DON'T TRAIN BRATS!" He yelled, nearly tossing Naruto back with just the wind from his shout, but the blond was, if anything, stubborn as a mule._

_"No way, pal! I need you to train me and I ain't goin' nowhere until you do!" Naruto declared as he sat down on the couch in Sakaki's room, crossing his arms and jutting his chin in defiance in true Naruto style._

_Even though he was testing Naruto's legendary stubboness, he was still impressed with the boy. The mountain of a man started to chuckle lightly. It kept getting a little louder over the next minute, until full blown laughter erupted form the man._

_"Ha ha! You've got guts, gaki! I think you and I are gonna get along juuuust fine!" He chortled as he stood up, leaving a confused blond in his wake._

_"Oi, you comin' or what , gaki?" He called out to his student with a grin. After that, the two got started on the basics of Sakaki's martial art, Karate. Starting where Apachai did with his instruction, he began with the basic katas of the style and had Naruto work on his form, punching and kicking away on the same training post as before. _

_"Now, Karate is a martial art that is meant to enable an unarmed person to fight an armed person on equal grounds. Most of your strength will be coming from your Core body and your hips." He _

_Sakaki said he had to go get something and had Naruto continue until he returned, but Naruto was so engrossed in what he was doing, that he zoned out. Sakaki came back with an iron girder and slammed it into the ground next to his student's dummy._

_"Well, I might as well get in some light practice, eh gaki?" He joked with his student, who stopped punching to gawk at what was about to happen._

_**"CHESSU!"**__ Sakaki roared as his fist slammed into the metal, METAL, construction item, warping the girder with his first hit and continuing to go to town with a series of blows so rapid, he couldn't even see them until he stopped, leaving the girder distorted beyond all recognition._

_"That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen..." He muttered in awe as his time limit ran out._

_Next on the list was Shigure. She was especially reluctant about training since her methods were rather rough, but remembered that Kushina trained her in a similar method and Naruto healed like nobody's business. Her first exercise was an accuracy drill with his thrown weapons, with her constantly taking pot shots at him to distracct him. _

_"Owww! Hey, watch it!" Naruto yelped after a kunai grazed his face._

_"Naruto-kun. This...is for your own...good." She told him in her usual monotone voice as she flung more sharp and pointy objects at her pusedo little brother._

_After a target practice seesion that left Naruto feeling like the target, she pulled out a wooden Bokken and threw it to him. "Ne...What's this for?" He asked, slightly afraid of what the answer might be._

_His fears were unwarranted, this time, as she began to explain. "I wish...to teach you how to...use a sword. Engarde..." She told him as she lunged for him with her bokken at blinding speeds. Acting out of desperation, he slashed at her with the training blade, only to miss, letting her get behind him and swat him on his ass with her training sword, hard._

_Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin while the pain in his scrawny ass subsided. "Let that...be a lesson to you...Naruto-kun." She told him as she began to tutor him about the basic parts of the sword and in the basic movements of the sword, such as the Six Cuts and the eight different critical hit spots on a person. The last hour was dedicated to these two things until we finally, we come to our last instuctor of the day, Kensei._

_"Ne, Ero-sensei, what style do you use?" Naruto asked curiously._

_To answer that question, Kensei led him over to a small creek that was near the bath house. A passerby, a painfully familiar passerby with blond hair that used to be long and a big mouth (*_**COUGH* INO!)**_, just happened to be passing by. _

_"What's that idiot Naruto doing with that old guy?" She wondered as her curiosity got the better of her._

_Kensei noticed her, but smirked to himself, turning his attention back to Naruto. "Well, Naruto-chan. I am known as a master of all forms of Kung Fu and Kenpo. Even the Hyuuga Jyuuken and the Goken that your friend Lee uses have their origins in my arts, so I can teach you how to fight a Hyuuga without getting shut down."_

_Naruto nearly had stars in his eyes. "Whoa...That's neat!" He exclaimed._

_"If you will allow me, I will demonstrate a technique from one of the styles I shall be teaching you, Hakkyoukuken." He told the star-struck boy as he calmly walked over to the water's edge and placed a palm just over the water's surface. _

_He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. __**"HAAA!"**__ He grunted as the surface of the water seemed to explode around his palm thrust. The most amazing thing about it was that his palm never touched the water, it was the sheer force of the blow that caused the water to seemingly detonate like someone ignited an exploding tag._

_'What the hell was that? That old man's training that doofus Naruto? I gotta ask forehead about this!' She thought as she comtinued to watch._

_"What the hell was that, Ero-sensei? That was freakin' awesome!" Naruto cheered._

_"That was just a basic palm thrust, but the purpose of this demonstration was to show you the aim of this art, to achieve maximum effect with minimal watsed movement. I think it will help you with your concentraition and patience, my boy." The short master told Naruto honestly and seriously._

_"Cool! It doesn't even matter that Kakashi-teme abandoned me anymore! I'm learning way more from you guys in one day than he taught me in months!" Naruto cheered._

_"I agree, Naruto-chan. Hatake was certainly a poor example of a teacher. Abandoning a student is one of the worse sins a sensei can commit against their student. Now come, we have much to cover within the two hours we've been alloted." He told his pupil, guiding him inside._

_Ino, who was watching the whole thing, left quickly to tell Sakura the juicy gossip that she just found. Even if they were rivals, she still traded gossip with her ex-best friend._

_**FLASHBACK END**_

Naruto was snapped out of his reminising about his day when he heard Miu call out that dinner was ready. When the world came back into focus, he found the fist of his sensei millimeters from his face. At the mention of food, Kensei pulled a complete one-eighty from serious sensei to a chow hound in under a second. Just as Naruto was about to head inside to eat dinner, the clones he had sent with Jiraiya had dispersed, their memories hitting him like one of Sakura's punches. He staggered as the knowledge flowed into him, causing Miu to worry.

"Naru-chan, are you okay?" She asked in worry as she supported the staggering boy.

"Y-yeah...I'm okay, Miu-neechan." He told her as he steadied himself to enter the dining hall.

Dinner was in and of itself an adventure. He was seated inbetween the two most notorious food theives in the house, Kensei and Apachai. No sooner than the food was set before him the two swooped in on his rice bowl, but Naruto had been dealing with the likes of them his whole life, so he leaned back slightly to aviod them and nearly gulped down the rice in one fell swoop. Hayato and the rest saw this and were happy that he wasn't the type to let his guard down easily, but knew that the life that he'd lived thus far was responsible for this.

"Mmmm! That was good rice, Onee-chan!" Naruto called out merrily as he held out his bowl for seconds.

The other two sensei spared a grin for the foxy-eyed blond between them. It had been quite a while since their meal times had become fun and even longer since Shigure had actually joined them for supper. Now here she was, sitting amongst them with her pet mouse Touchumaru perched atop her shoulder, eating and actually smiling slightly. Hayato knew then and there that having Naruto live with them from now on was a wonderful idea. It was bringing everyone closer together and making them much happier. Miu was smiling much more now since she now had something of a little brother to care for and to dote on. Sakaki was a little happier with having the ballsy blond around, it was like having a nephew for him. Kensei saw much of himself in Naruto's carefree and jolly nature while Apachai was happy to have a playmate again since the nice man in the spandex became too busy to spar with him, having his own students to teach. Now, they were a family.

_**MEANWHILE, AT THE YAMANAKA FLOWER SHOP...**_

Ino had called Sakura over to her family's flower shop to dish out the dirt on what her idiotic teammate was up to this time.

"What is it, Ino-pig? I have better things I could be doing, like winning Sasuke-kun's heart." Sakura told her rival pointedly.

Ino scoffed. "Yeah right, just keep telling yourself that, forehead. Anyway, I saw something wierd today and it revovled around your teammate."

"What? Quit stalking Sasuke-kun, Pig!" Sakura screeched.

"Who said that I was talking about Sasuke-kun? I meant Naruto." Ino amended.

"Why should I care about that idiot?"

_'Ouch...That was a little too harsh, forehead. I don't even treat my teammates like that.'_ Ino thought as she told Sakura everything she overheard.

After hearing everything, Sakura just scoffed. "So what? That little idiot will just lose to Neji, anyway. I'm not surprized that Kakashi-sensei kicked him to the curb since Sasuke-kun deserved the training more anyway. He'd be better off if Neji just beat him up so badly, that he gets kicked off of our team! We never wanted him there, anyway."

Ino couldn't believe that he ex-best friend was so heartless. _'Sakura, how could you be so cruel? Even if Naruto is a little annoying sometimes, he doesn't deserve that from you.'_ She thought.

"Sakura...I...I think you should leave now." Ino told her in an even, yet firm tone. Her father instilled into her the fact that every Konoha shinobi is her comerade and deserves that much respect, at least. Naruto had earned his place in the finals and Ino was beginning to see that the dead last wasn't as such anymore, especially with what she heard earlier that day form the strange old man and Naruto himself. Ino's thoughts carried her back to a conversation she had with her father upon the first time she met her fellow blond.

_**FLASHBACK **_

_A six year old Ino came bounding into the shop that her family owned from the first day of her fourth year at the Academy. "Daddy! I'm home!" She yelled into the shop._

_A tall man with a long, sandy blond ponytail stepped out. "Hello there, princess! How was your first day?" He asked her, his wife, Yuki, stepping up behind him._

_"It was kinda boring. Iruka-sensei just talked all day long, but we have a new kid in our class!" She told them._

_A new kid? Inoichi's ears perked up at this. "Oh really? What's his name?"_

_"It sounds kinda funny, Uzumaki Naruto." She answered._

_Her parents both went rigid, then relaxed. "Are you sure, dear?" Her mother asked,_

_"Yeah, but the teachers were pretty mean to him. They always sent him out of the classroom and yelled at him, even when he didn't do anything wrong." She told her parents, who were having their own little discussion. She could pick out words like "Needless hate" and "Poor boy", but couldn't tell what they were talking about._

_"Ino-chan, you should try to be his friend. He sounds like he needs one pretty badly." Yuki told her daughter._

_"But...why is everyone so mean to him?" She asked innocently._

_"I can't tell you that, but please, be nice to him. His life's been hard enough." Her father nearly pleaded. Ino had never seen her father like that before._

_"O-okay." She agreed._

_The next few days, she spend watching how he was treated, but got sucked into what the main crowd was thinking, like most children do and began to mistreat him, as well. _

_**FLASHBACK END**_

Ino was shaken out of her thoughts by Sakura, who was trying to get her attention. "Hey pig! Why should I go home? Don't tell me you actually fell sorry for that loser?" The pinkette jeered.

"Just...leave." Ino told her firmly, pointing for the door.

"Fine then. I'll just tell Sasuke-kun that you aren't devoted to him anymore, pig!" She yelled from down the street.

Ino didn't even have the mind to argue back. _'Is this what I've become? Some shallow girl that would wish harm on a comrade just because they aren't Sasuke-kun?'_ She asked herself as she flipped the business sign to closed for the evening.

Sakura was stomping down the street in a huff over all that she learned. "That baka, Naruto! Who does he think he is, getting training from someone like that and not Sasuke-kun? I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Pink-zilla ranted as she stomped down toward Ryouzanpaku, her blond target etched firmly in her crosshairs.

_A/N: Third chapter done and over with. Tort...ahem...Training begins for Naruto as the masters start to teach our blond knucklehead their styles. Jiraiya has begun to teach Naruto the Rasengan for now due to the fact that the clones don't have blood to sign the Toad contract with. He has also been shown the Kage Bunshin training method in order to speed up the rate at which he'll learn, which was exceptional already. He has also gotten to know the masters a little better and learn their quirks._

_Also, Ino and Sakura now know somewhat of what Naruto's been up to in the past few days and Sakura's not happy at all with the knowledge that this training might help Naruto upstage Sasuke in her mind, and she won't have that, will she? Ino, however, had an apiphany about how she's treated people in the past, particularly Naruto. She may just be a little more understanding toward him in the future with this new revelation, as well as her teammates._

_What'll happen to the pinkette once she enters the den of lions that is Ryouzanpaku, especially since the two resident females there would love nothing but to skin her alive? What'll happen when Hinata and Raichi see her again? When will Orochi-pedo go straight and Sasuke stop being emo? Don't really know, but finding out will promise to be a hell of a good time!_

_Now..._

_LEAVE A F&!ING REVIEW!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey y'all! I back with another chapter of HSD Naruto! We are now on the final leg of Naruto's road to the Chuunin Exams. We finally introduce anthor HSD Kenichi denizen in the form of Renka, as per popular demand! Also, we will see the return of the Slug Princess, Tsunade! Konoha won't know what hit it, will it?_

_**RYOUZANPAKU GATES**_

Sakura had stomped her way through town and made a bee-line for the place that Ino had described. She DID, however, wonder why the people she asked about it thought that she was insane for wanting to actually go there. That, unfortunately, did nothing to quell the anger she harbored for her blond teammate at this moment in time.

"How dare that blond idiot get training that my Sasuke-kun doesn't get! I'm gonna turn his face into hamburger meat!" She ranted loudly as she continued to rampage through the rural streets that lead away form the village.

Five minutes later saw her in front of the massive and ridiculously heavy gates of Ryouzanpaku. She was at first marveling at the size of the compound, but her fangirl side reared it's ugly head.

"Whatever. Sasuke-kun's clan compund is soo much better than this dump." She scoffed as she tried to open the gates, only to find that they wouldn't budge.

"What the hell? HEY, NARUTO-BAKA! GET OUT HERE!" She screeched loudly until she heard somebody land beside her.

She got a good look at this newcomer and saw that it was a girl her age, only far more developed than her, and had her long black hair up in braids that were held up by a pair of bell-like ornaments. She also wore white thigh-highs with a short chinese style dress and topped off by black slipper like shoes.

"Who are you yelling at?" She asked, her cat like eyes blinking with curiosity.

"I want that Naruto-baka out here right now! I bet he thinks that if he gets training from some old fart here, he can beat Sasuke-kun!" The she-banshee screeched.

"Hmmm...That's strange. I don't remember anyone by that name living here..." The new girl mused out loud as she walked up to the massive gates.

"Um, those doors are locked." The pink haired girl scoffed.

The dark haired girl was starting to not like this girl as she placed both hands on the gate and took a deep breath.

_**TANPA!**_

With an inhumanly powerful thrust, the doors flew open to allow entry. Sakura's jaw dropped at the sight. _'What the hell was that?'_

"You said you were looking for someone right?" The new girl drawled out, snapping her out of her awe.

"R-Right..." She stammered slightly as she followed along.

Once inside the compound, she good a good look around to see that it was mostly open grounds and had two main structures, a dojo and a main house that she supposed housed the people that lived there. Off to the side was a training area that had multiple training dummys and posts, along with some other strange items, like an oddly deformed iron girder that had fist shaped dents in it.

She was currently being led up to the main house and her guide opened up the door leading inside.

"NIHAO, PAPA!" Her guide shouted out into a hallway. Sakura moved up to see a group of people that were sitting down around a table, eating dinner. Many were adult men with one woman.

"Ahhh, Renka-chan! How have you been, my daughter?" A short, bald man in black clothes stated as he stood up to greet her.

"Not too bad, papa. I heard that you guys took on a new disciple and came to see for myself. I that true?" Renka asked curiosly.

"Ahhh, yes. Naruto-chan is a very interesting boy. Reminds me of myself when I was your age." He mused, not knowing the bomb that he unwittingly set off.

"WHAT? WHERE IS THAT BAKA? I WANT HIM OUT HERE NOW!" Sakura roared.

Hayato and the other masters were not amused by this rather rude outburst from a total stranger that had yet to introduce herself. Not one little bit. Calmest of the bunch, Akisame, called out to her.

"And who might you be, young lady?" The moustachio asked the banshee.

"Huh? Oh, my name is Sakura." She replied. No sooner than the name left her mouth, Ki came crashing into her from all directions.

"And what might you require from our student at such an hour?" Akisame asked, eyebrow raised.

Sakura launched into a diatribe about all that she had heard from someone else about Naruto recieving special training from somebody that her precious Sasuke wasn't. It was at the end of that rant that her target appeared from the kitchen and her rage-filled eyes locked onto him, already stomping over to him. She grabbed him by the front of the shirt angrily.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, Dobe? Sasuke-kun needs this training, not you, so get out of here! Nobody wants you around anyway!" She ranted. As she pulled back her fist to clock him, the person he followed out of the kitchen, who she never even saw, snagged her wrist and was wrenching down with a powerful grip.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing to my otouto-kun?" Miu asked in a deadly yet sweet sounding voice, Ki practically gushing form her.

Sakura now felt the Ki that was flooding the room hit her and looked around to see that the adults in the room were all glaring at her, the woman in the short kimono unsheathing her blade slowly while standing up. She had unwittingly cast herself into the Lion's Den.

"We've...all heard and...seen what you've done to...this boy. My Akabanetou...cries for blood." Shigure said in her usual tone, only instead of boredom, this time she had malice and rage in her words.

The pink haired girl was now pertified with fear. There was no Kakashi, no Sasuke, or even Naruto to save her this time and she would have to reap what she had sown.

Miu noticed this and spoke out. "I believe that you shouldn't come around here anymore, Haruno-san. Also, if you EVER hurt him like you have again, we WILL break you." Miu snarled. Sakura could tell, even in her current state, that this was no threat, but a promise. She looked over to Naruto with pleading eyes to try and get some form of comfort from him like he always would in the past, but he wasn't budging.

"Naruto? Why? Why won't you help me? Aren't I your teammate? Don't you like me anymore?" She whimpered, trying to play his sympathy.

It really turned the stomachs of Miu and Shigure to hear this pathetic girl try to charm him, but they were glad when his even gaze turned into a small glare.

"I know what you're trying to do and I'd like it if you stopped right now. I'm not the same person that you bullied around anymore. If you're finished, leave." The blond told her in a cold tone as he turned his back to her.

Sakura's pride took a major blow as she ran crying from the compound, most likely all the way home. _'Damn that baka! He's was supposed to be my loyal pet, but those people turned him against me! You will pay for this, baka!'_ She mentally snarled as she continued to dash home.

Naruto sighed as she left. "I can't believe I used to like her..."

Renka was having thoughts of her own. "Hey, um, what was that chick's deal with you? That could not have been normal."

Naruto looked over at who spoke. "Hey, um, who are you?" He asked. He had to admit that she was very pretty and...provocatively dressed, not to mention that she was generously endowed.

"Oh! Sorry about that! I'm Renka, Ma Renka!" She told him cheerfully as she took in what he looked like. _'Hmmm. He's kind of scrawny and short, but he's also kind of cute, too.'_

"Ma? Are you related to Ero-sensei?" He asked.

"Ahh, yes. She is my daughter, Renka. Renka, this is our new pupil, Uzumaki Naruto-chan." Kensei replied.

Renka stifled a giggle at how he addressed her father. "You called him Ero-sensei? That was hilarious!" She exclaimed.

_'I can definitely get to like this boy. Maybe I should stay a while...'_ She thought and she remembered that her Uncle Teuchi, her mother's brother, and her cousin Ayame, owned a ramen stand here in the village. _'I wonder how they're doing?'_

"Now, back to what I was asking. What was her problem with you, anyway?" Renka asked.

"You might as well have a seat, 'cause this is gonna take a little while..." He told her as he told the tale of his life, or at least not the parts with the Kyuubi. When he was starting to show his fatigue, he turned in for the night. Even with his inhuman stamina, making waves of Shadow Clones along with getting the crap beat out of him all day wore him out.

"G'night, Renka-chan." He told her with a large yawn. He had a very long day and the following days would prove to be just as harsh, but they were nessessary if he wanted to stay alive against Neji and anyone else that he might wind up fighting.

Hayato took over for him and filled in the rest, verifying that all that was said was the truth. Next, she was told of how Sakura's treatment of Naruto had caused a psychological episode earlier that day.

Renka seethed at the fact that this girl thought that she could just walk all over someone and scar him so badly like she did. He was only being nice to her and she used him as her personal punching bag, all because she was brainlessly devoted to that arrogant Uchiha. The more she heard about the clan and the person himself, the angrier she got. She had heard about the Uchiha clan and from what she had learned, many of them were little better than thieves who stole the hard work and secrets of others, even their allies, to gain power.

"So, Naruto-kun is stuck on a team with that worthless little fangirl and an Uchiha with an over-inflated ego. To top that off, he had a worthless sensei who only taught the Uchiha so that he could ride on his coattails. I don't see how it could have been any worse than it already is... Renka muttered.

However, her opinion of the young blond she just met had taken a massive leap forward, just for the sheer amount of patience it much have taken to keep from going insane. She was especially interested in finding out why he was hated so much by the village as a whole. She looked to her father once again.

"Father, I will be staying here in the village for the time being, at least until the exams are over." Renka informed her father.

Kensei was many things, such as a world class pervert, but not blind or dumb. He could see that his daughter had an underlying motive for staying here and it had to do with his newest student. She had taken a keen interest in him and far be it for him to discourage her. But, he had to warn her about the engagements he already had, should she decide to pursue him.

_'That can wait for now...I first need to see how she feels about him and that will take time. It's usually best to let these things run their course. It worked for Minato and Kushina and myself, so why not?'_ The Kenpo Master reasoned.

"That's okay with me, my dear. Maybe Miu-chan will let you stay in her room?" Hayato offered.

"Thank you, elder! Maybe I can help Naruto-kun out a bit as a sparring partner." She suggested, blushing slightly. Renka was no slouch as a fighter herself, having been trained since birth to take over her father's skills when he finally passes. She could easily beat a Chuunin with Taijutsu alone and could probably take out Sasuke with ease.

Hayato nodded his head at the offer. "That could work out well. It would give the boy mmore styles to learn from and give him a wider skill and experience base to draw from. Miu-chan, would you mind if Miss Renka shared your room?" He asked his grand-daughter.

Miu merely smiled. If Renka was around to help her and Naruto out, things would be far easier. "I don't mind, Ojii-san." The blond girl replied as she led Renka to her room to get settled in.

The other masters all decided to turn in for the night as well, but Hayato asked kensei to talk with him for a moment. "I'm sure that you noticed it as well."

"I know. My daughter is taking an interest in the boy. I could see it in her eyes and in the request to stay here, otherwise she would never have considered it. She is obsessed with finding a strong husband and she has her sights set on Naruto-chan. However, I don't think she's aware of the engagements. If she continues to show interest and tries to actively pursue him, I will tell her. My other concern is if you approve, seeing as you are the boy's guardian." Kensei replied.

Hayato closed his eyes to consider it. "Renka-chan is a strong girl and spirited, but also a good girl and she will treat him with respect. I have no problem with it, but you and I will have to talk with Hiashi and Tenmon to see if they will allow this, since this agreement was hammered out before they were born." Hayato explained.

It made perfect sense to Kensei, but he could also see just what made Naruto so appealing to these girls. He was a good kid and while he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, he had the right stuff where it counted the most despite all that he had to go through over the years. _'These girls know what they want in a future groom. Smart, unlike these fangirls that I've seen in recent times.'_ He reasoned.

After their heart to heart, all had turned in and went to sleep.

_**TIMESKIP : ONE MONTH**_

Man, a lot can happen in the span of just one month, thirty days, 720 hours, 43,200 minutes. However you want to count it, much can and did happen to one Uzumaki Naruto :

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Naruto had been training not only with the masters of Ryouzanpaku, but also studying Ninjutsu and Fuuinjutsu with Jiraiya of the Sannin who was also his Godfather. For all of this training, his Kage Bunshin proved itself to be invaluable with how he was soaking up all of the knowldge like a sponge. _

_In one month's time, he managed to master the Rasengan enough to the point that it was combat effective, but he still needed a clone to help him with the manipulation. He had also gone with Jiraiya for a day and signed the Toad Summoning contract. Jiraiya had told him that his own father had signed the contract before him, then he signed it and passed it down to Naruto's father, who the Sage saw as his own son, and would now pass it down to Naurto. After two hours of frustration, Naruto finally summoned a small orange toad named Gamakichi._

_The spunky little toad and our favorite blond had hit it off wonderfully as he continued to try and summon bigger toads. Just when he was reaching his limit, he shoved all of the chakra he had left into the jutsu and it resulted in a massive explosion of smoke. Naruto felt like he was speeding up into the sky until the smoke cleared to reveal that he was standing on top of the nose of a massive toad that was the size of the Hokage Monument._

_"OI! WHO THE HELL SUMMONED ME? JIRAIYA! GET OUT HERE!" The great toad bellowed._

_Jiraiya paled. He knew that Gamabunta didn't like being summoned for no reason and moved to hide, but Naruto was out in the open._

_Gamabunta noticed a boy that was panting on his nose. "Oi, gaki. Where's that pervert Jiraiya? I need to talk with that fool about summoning me for no reason."_

_Naruto looked confused for a moment, but answered the massive creature. "Hey, uh, Boss Toad? I was the one that summoned you." He answered sheepishly._

_The toad's eyes narrowed, but then it broke out into earth rumbling laughter. "You? Summon me? Hahaha! That's a good joke, gaki! Now tell me where Jiraiya is!"_

_Naruto still didn't like being dismissed so easily, but he was beat to a response by Gamakichi. "Oi, pops!" He called out, raising a webbed foot in greeting._

_'POPS? This huge freaking toad is Kichi's FATHER?' Naruto thought._

_"Huh? Gamakichi, what are you doing here?" The massive toad asked._

_"The kid here was telling the truth, Pops! He summoned me, too and he's alright with me! He's a pretty fun guy!" Kichi answered._

_"Is that a fact?" Bunta said aloud, more to himself than anyone else._

_'Minato, your boy looks just like you...' The Toad Boss though sadly as he decided to accept Naruto as a summoner._

_"I believe you, kid. You are now one of my henchmen, part of the family, kiddo. Now, to seal the deal like men, we'll have a drink, ne?" Bunta announced as he pulled out his sake gourd, The hardest part was for a small enough portion to go to Naruto, but the 'drop' that came out of the bottle nearly drowned the young summoner. The end result was that Naruto took in the equivanlent of a milk jug's worth of alcohol, enough to put Tsunade into an alcohol induced stupor. After the two of them finished their 'drink', Naruto was shitfaced drunk and stumbling around. Bunta himself was singing a sappy ballad with Naruto tunelessly joining in, annoying just about everyone in the area that wasn't three sheets to the wind._

_"(Hic)Yer awright by me Gaki! Call me out fer another drink sometime and a good fight! Ja ne!" He called out as he poofed away, leaving Naruto passed out next to the river bank they were at._

_Jiraiya took a look at his Godson, laid out spread eagle, snoring away and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ugh...How am I going to explain this to Hayato?" He grumbled as he scooped up the dozing boy and carried him back to new home, Ryouzanpaku, where he got an earfull from Miu for letting him drink._

_Next in his Ninjutsu training was furthering the Rasengan. He was told that the Rasengan took the Fourth three years to develop and learn, and Jiraiya himself almost two years to master. Naruto knew that he didn't have that amount of time to learn it, so he was putting every effort into completing it. After three weeks, he was on the final stage of the Rasengan training while his Taijutsu training raged on. Both of his fiancees lent themselves out as sparring partners, Hinata for Anti-Jyuuken training and Raichi to help sharpen his skills. Renka also helped out by filling in for her father at times since she knew what he was teaching the boy._

_Most of the masters had something going on the side, like Akisame running a chiropratic clinic and Kensei running a shiatzu and acupuncture clinic. Sakaki sometimes was gone for a few days on an occasional bodyguard gig, and Shigure on occasion took an ANBU mission that was close to home. All of the proceeds went into helping to run the compound and stave off foreclosure, so the girls and Naruto all pitched in to help. _

_Speaking of the girls, Kensei, Jiraiya, and Hayato sought out Hiashi and Tenmon to discuss Renka's interest in their future son-in-law. Hiashi was a little pensive about introducing a new girl into the equation and asked to meet with her. He was surprized and intrigued by this girl's sharp wit and confidence, getting the feeling that she could help draw Hinata further out of her shell and push her harder. Tenmon and Kensei had been old friends for a very long time and had even studied under the same master at one point in time. He already knew Renka and she and Raichi were already friends, so he had no problem with it, either._

_Next, Hinata and Raichi were taken aside by their fathers and this issue was discussed in it's entirety. Hinata was already comfortable with the fact that she would be sharing with Raichi, but she wanted to get to know Renka a little better. From what she knew already, Renka was almost like a female Naruto in some ways, which made her easier to get used to. Raichi was more comfortable with the idea after she found out that her father supported it._

_Finally, we come to Naruto himself. He was at first oblivious to Renka advances. However, during sparring times, she gave him little choice but to notice that she liked him by managing to put them into precarious situations like making him fall on top of her or making sure that their faces came VERY close and she would comment on his features, mainly his eyes and whiskers. The purple haired girl was quite agressive in making sure she got her message across. Naruto came to talk with Kensei about it, which is what he and Hayato were waiting for. The two of them explained that should Naruto accept her, she would be allowed into the betrothal group. _

_"Th-three girls..." The blond stammered out before passing out with a nose bleed and a wide grin on his face._

_On a training ground on the other side of the village, Gai could actually SENSE that someone had discovered the power of Youth._

_In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was reading his Icha Icha book when a certain feeling of pride washed over him. " I feel like I should be very proud of someone."_

_At Team 8's training grounds where the rest of Team 8 was training, Shino did something that would scar the rest of his teammates forever._

_"YYYYYOOOOOUUUUUTTTTTHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. As he stopped he noted the bewildered expressions of his teammates._

_"Sorry. That just sort of came out." Was his normal, monotone reply._

_Back with our blond hero, Jiraiya and Kensei both slammed into "Ecchi Mode" as they referred to it as, upon contemplating the extreme luck that the boy was blessed with. Hayato brought them back down to earth by stating the fact that his luck was hard won from years of suffering, to which they solemnly agreed._

_Now, we move on to Naruto's Taijutsu training. Now, anyone who said that Naruto was a dumbass wouldn't be complete right, but not wrong either. he just learned things differently and the type of training he was recieveing was right up his alley. You see, he is what's called a Kinesthetic learner, meaning that he learns by actually doing rather than by theory alone. Through this method, Naruto soaked up the styles of his masters like a sponge, taking in everything with child-like enthusiasim, awe and wonder. After getting down the basic movements for each style of each sensei, he bage to experiment by mixing up the movements. Soon, as he was plugging away on a training post, he mixed in the movements of all of the sensei on the same punch and wound up breaking the post in half._

_Nearby, Akisame had been wathcing him train and raised an eyebrow at what his student had done and accomplished. He noticed that he combined the movements for all of the Marital Arts he'd been taught into one, single blow and walked over to the dumbfounded boy._

_"Naruto-kun. Do you even realise what you just did?" He asked calmly._

_"Uh, n-no, Akisame-sensei." He replied, thinking he'd done something wrong. _

_The moustachio sighed. They were still having a rough time breaking him of feeling that everytime they stop him he did something to anger them. "Naruto-kun, I want you to try what you just did again on another target."_

_Naruto gulped, but wanted to succeed. "HEYAHHH!" He roared as he repeated the process again, only this time adding more force into the blow. The training post was nearly reduced to sawdust as Naruto pulled back his fist, looking in awe as Akisame smiled._

_"What you just did was combined the basic movements for all of our styles into one blow, exponentially increasing the power of the punch. Now, all Marital Arts have a rythmn of sorts, but this had no rthymn at all, making the blow extremely difficult to predict or percieve. I think you just created your our signature techique, unique to only you. I'm proud of you." The wiry Jiujitsu Master applauded him._

_Naruto couldn't believe it. He had made this powerful Taijutsu technique all on his own and his masters were proud of him. This filled him with happiness and a renewed drive for improvment._

_On another note, Jiraiya's summons and the ANBU team sent out by Sarutobi had suceeded in locating Tsunade, who was currently two day's away form Konoha itself. The toad's had informed her that she still had something in the village, a living relation. Spurred by this, Tsunade made all possible haste in returning to the village, beating the ANBU back by nearly half a day. The blond Sannin stormed right up to Sarutobi's office while she ordered her assistant Shizune to check them into a hotel room, marching right over the Chuunin guards and an ANBU to do so._

_"Sensei! Is it true? Is there still someone left?" She asked him._

_"Calm yourself Tsunade and sit down. We have much to discuss." He informed her, Jiraiya and Hayato flickering in beside him._

_"Jiraiya? Fuurinji-sama? What's going on here?" Tsunade asked, puzzled._

_"Tsunade-chan, how have you been, my dear?" The elder blond man asked of her._

_"I've been well, Fuurinji-sama. May I ask what's going on here? I was just told that I still have a relation here in the village so I came right back."_

_Sarutobi nodded to the two men to have a seat as well as he began to tell her everything, especially that her Godson is still alive and living in the village. The beautiful Sannin was reduced to tears at how bad Naruto's life had been and at the fact that she was not even aware of his survival. However, her sadness was replaced with another emotion, rage. Pure, primal rage, at how she had been lied to by the council._

_"Damn it all! I could have taken him with me! Raised him myself! How could they do this to me? To him? To Minato and Kushina? What kind of monsters have you allowed to make these decision?" She ranted at the elderly Hokage, who did nothing to defend himself. He knew that he could have alerted Tsunade, but he allowed the council to tie his hands._

_"I know that you would have taken him with you, but allowing an infant Jinchuuriki to leave the village was too much of a risk. If he were captured, he could have been turned against us by any power unfriendly to ours, specifically and old friend of ours that has an unnatural love of snakes." Sarutobi told her. He also informed her as to what Orochimaru was planning, a fullscale invasion of the village and ultimately, it's total destruction._

_"Orochimaru...I'll rip that son of a bitch to shreds before he lays a hand on him." She growled, her maternal instincts kicking in._

_"That's not all, Tsunade. Orochimaru knows of his existance and has already gotten to him. During the second stage of the Chuunin Exams, his team ran into Orochimaru, who was targeting the Uchiha for recruitment. During which, Naruto fought with and managed to drive away Orochimaru, but not before he put another seal on the boy, the Gogyo Fuuin. This put him at a severe disadvantage in the next stage of the exam, but the boy pulled through. His sensei, one Kakashi Hatake, was informed of his condition, but chose to ignore it in favor of Uchiha Sasuke. He also abandoned Naruto to train that Uchiha brat exclusively." Jiraiya told her with a growl, as he was the one that both spotted the malfunctioning seal and fixed it._

_This was yet another thing that nearly made the woman seek out and destroy the ones that wronged her Godson. However, she was also proud of the fact that he managed to stand up to the snake freak and stood his ground. "That slimy bastard...I'll see to him soon enough. but enough of that, how is the brat doing now?"_

_Hayato smirked slightly. "He's alive and as healthy as a boy could be. I have taken him into my home as his legal guardian and I have been training him after he was...abandoned. Also, I believe that as his Godmother, you have the right to know about an extenuating circumstance surrounding him and an agreement made by his father to a couple of old friends of his. I believe you remember Hyuuga Hiashi and Li Tenmon?" _

_"Yeah, I do. Minato-gaki's best friends. What about them?_

_"Well, the two of them had daughters while Minato had a son. I believe you can figure out what happened." Hayato told her with a grin._

_Her eyes widened. "That brat has a small harem on his hands." She said aloud before breaking out into a smirk._

_"Heh, the entire world shits all over him, but he sure got compensated for it, didn't he?" She laughed._

_"So, when can I meet the brat and his gang?" She added once she stopped laughing._

_"I'll take you to him personally, Tsunade-chan." Hayato told her, standing to his full and impressive height of over 6' 6"._

_With that, Sarutobi told his secretary that he would be in the village in official business as they all flickered from the office to the compound._

_Once at the compound, she was greeted by the sight of a small boy with a shock of wild, golden blond hair, riding around on the shoulders of a bronze skinned giant like a bucking bronco, whooping and hollering at the top of his lungs. "YAAAHHHHOOOO! Giddy-yap, Apachai-sensei!"_

_Tsunade smiled at the sight. 'He has Minato's hair and Kushina's face...It's uncanny.' She commented to herself as the human bronco came to a stop near her as Apachai noticed the newcomer._

_"Apa? New person?" He asked, to which Hayato nodded._

_"Yes, Apachai-kun. If you would be so kind as to round up the others in the dining room, we all need to talk about something." He instructed._

_Naruto slid off of his shoulders and got a good look at this new lady and blushed slightly. 'She's really pretty...' He thought. _

_"Who are you?" He asked in bewilderment._

_Tsunade smiled softly at his as she ruffled his hair playfully. "I'll tell you in a few minutes, gaki." She told him playfully._

_"Oi, gaki, let's go to the dining room. We have a lot to tell you." Jiraiya told the boy, who nodded and followed his Kyoufu._

_The masters all started to file in but they all noticed the blond woman sitting next to her teammate. _

_"Ah, Tsunade-sama. It's been many years since I've seen you." Akisame greeted her repectfully. He studied physiology under her for a few years while she was in the village._

_"Tsunade-hime! It's been so long!" Kensei called out, tipping his hat._

_"So you're the famous Tsunade-sama? You hold your age well!" Sakaki greeted merrily. _

_Shigure's greeting was silent, yet still respectful. She gave a deep bow to the Slug Princess, while Apachai gave the "Pretty Lady" a somewhat childish wave._

_Miu came out of the kitchen with fresh tea. "Oh! I didn't know you had guests Ojii-sama!" She told her grandfather._

_"Miu-chan, please sit. This concerns you, as well." He told her as he turned his attention to the great nephew. _

_"Naruto-chan..." He started as he explained everything that had been talked about in the Hokage's office. Everything about Tsunade and how she was and is his godmother, and why she didn't know about him until recently._

_Naruto sat in silence. "So...You won't go anywhere, Tsunade-Obasan?" He asked her, scooting near her._

_'Auntie? Well, it's way better than Baa-chan.' She reasoned._

_"That's right, gaki. I'm not going anywhere. C'mere, kiddo." She told him in a playful tone as she snatched him up into an embrace._

_Shigure watched impassively, but was finding it harder to keep her connection to Naruto a secret until he is told of his parents. To that end, she was training him hard to make Chuunin to meet the stipulation placed upon him by Jiraiya and the Hokage._

_Once that was all settled, Shizune was informed of her master's whereabouts and homed right in on her. There, she learned that Naruto was her master's godchild, so she gladly took on the role as another big sister to him. Her nuturing nature helped Naruto warm up to her very quickly, just like it helped Miu and Ayame crack through Naruto's masks. _

_His brides to be were also told about who his legendary godmother was and got to meet her personally. All three girls were thrilled to meet someone so famous and legendary as the Princess of the Sannin, Senju Tsunade. She, in turn, wanted to meet the girls that would be marrying her godson in a few years for herself and was pleased, very pleased. All three girls had their wits about them, didn't act like scatter brained fangirls, and they were all around good, respectable young ladies with fire in them._

_To support herself in the village, Sarutobi made her the Hospital Director and Head Doctor due to her unmatched skills as a medic, with her assistant Shizune filling in the number two spot. From there, she began to "Trim the Fat" as she called it, cutting down on doctors and nurses that couldn't cut the mustard and conuction refresher training for those that remained. She also got the go ahead to start up the Combat Medic program that she always wanted to implement. Hinata expressed interest in this new program and with her Byakugan plus her home made medicines and salves, she would be a natural as one. Hiashi supported her whole heartedly in this endevor, as she would be the first Hyuuga to ever be a Combat Medic._

_On the issue of the Hyuuga clan, there was plenty of opposition to Hiashi's decision to honor the marriage pact that he and Minato had devised long ago. It turned out that the elder council was going to marry Hinata off because she wanted to join the Main and Branch houses once again and get rid of the Caged Bird Seal that had done so much damage to their family. Since the prince of Kuma no Kuni was out, they wanted to go with plan B, marrying her off to the heir of the Inuzuka clan, Kiba. Hiashi would not budge an inch for his decision, so they offered a comprimise, should naruto defeat Neji in the tournament, she would be free to marry Naruto. But, if Neji was victorious, she would be branded with the seal and married off. _

_Now, Kiba was pretty upset with losing to Naruto in the Prelims, but his smugness kicked in to high gearonce he learned that if Naruto lost to Neji, Hinata would be his. He wanted her to bear his pups and destroy Naruto's dreams, just to rub it in his face. He even came by the compound to gloat, but made a grave error._

_Kiba was strutting around near the compound and happened upon Naruto training with his fiancees and Master Sakaki and Miu all of them sparring. He strutted up to Hinata and snagged her by the arm._

_"Hey! Let her go, dog breath!" Naruto yelled._

_"Why should I, Dobe? She's gonna be mine anyway, so she might as well get used to hanging off of my arm. Since you're such a loser anyway, I might as well take the rest of these hotties from you. No Dobe could ever please a woman." He sneered._

_Naturally, Naruto didn't take this very well, but neither did the rest of the people present. Sakaki looked ready to kill on sight while Raichi and Renka were ready to turn his ass into a throw rug. Hinata was nearly retching with disgust. Kiba was an alright teammate when he wasn't being a total creep and pervert, but this was going too far. The most pissed off of them all, thought, was Miu. _

_Normally, Miu was a very gentle and kind young woman, a young woman that one would assume would't even hurt a fly. However, should you piss her off, even Hell couldn't hide you from her wrath. The beautiful blond haired girl strode over to to the dog boy, his eyes leering at her figure._

_"Hey what's this? Somebody jumping form the Dobe's ship already, huh?" Kiba jeered at Naruto, but missed Miu cracking her knuckles, an aura of rage behind her that was making even Sakaki cringe._

_As Kiba reached out to take her arm, Miu snatched it and twisted his arm to the point of breaking in one smooth, lightning fast action. Kiba quickly found that the more he tried to struggle, the tighter her grip became._

_"Now...you listen to me and yuou listen good. I don't EVER want to seen you around here again and should I catch you bothering any one of us, there won't be enough of you left to clean up with a mop." Miu growled at him, making Akamaru bolt off for home. She then shoved him away and the group started off back to the compound._

_However, Kiba was, if anything, a very sore loser and his arrogant pride had him trying to attack Miu form the back. In his mind, he needed to dominate this girl. Fortunately, his strike never hit it's target. Sakaki, a literal mountain of muscle, was blocking it, Kiba's claws not even scratching him. With only a paralizing glare and a low growl, the Karate master made the arrogant Inuzuka both piss and crap himself before passing out in fear._

_The news of ths new condidtion, once it reached them, infuriated the masters and Naruto, but only served to further fuel his desire to train harder and get stronger. Tsunade offered him more chakra control exercises to make his chakra stretch even further than before, but he didn't have much time to master them, He got though only two of them when the time for the final stage of the Chuunin Exams rolled around._

_**FLASHBACK END  
RYOZANPAKU COMPOUND**_

Sunlight broke over Hokage Mountain, splashing into the village below. People were already up and about, trying to take care of business beforehand on this special day. The Chuunin Exam Finals were to be held at 1000 this morning and nobody wanted to miss this. The fight card for the day was star studded, several highly talented Genin from the shinobi clans were fighting today, along with the Hyuuga prodigy and the Last Uchiha. However, to the chagrin of many, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was also fighting and many hoped that his opponent would actually kill him. Betting pools had been started on the winners of the matches, Naruto's odd for winning were abysmal to non-existant, over 1000:1.

However, the person in question was just rising out of bed and getting himself prepared for the day. For him, defeat is NOT an option, as Hinata's well being was on the line. Should he be defeated by Neji, Hinata would be forced to marry the dog boy of Team 8, someone whose hormones should be kept on a leash.

Naruto slipped on his training uniform and was preparing to strap on his weapons holster and pouch when something was thrown at him. He turned around to see who threw what to find all of the masters smiling at him. This time, it wasn't that insane, sadistic smile. These were filled with pride.

He reached down and opened the package that was tossed at him to reveal a new uniform.

The top was that of Karate, from Sakaki. "Hope you like it, gaki!"

The pants were from Chinese make but open at the cuff, from Kensei. "They have a loose fit for exrta movement."

There were hand and ankle wrappings like what Apachai wore. "Apa! These wrappings will protect your hands and feet, Naruto-chan!"

Next was a chain mail armor shirt that was hand crafted by Shigure herself. "To...protect you. This armor can...stop a spear."

Finally, a set of Tekkou, from the Elder himself. "I have been saving these for a long time, Naruto-chan. They belonged to your father, but now is the time to pass them down to you, my boy. Shigure-chan has been kind enough to re-size them to fit you. These Tekkou willprotectyou just as they did your father." Hayato smiled at him, having him change into them.

After a few minutes, Naruto came back out. "How do I look?" He asked.

"Like a warrior, gaki. Like a warrior." Sakaki told him with a smirk and a thumbs up.

Naruto clenched his fists as he tried to stave off tears, but a few tears of pride slid down his face. "Thank you...all of you." He whispered as Miu put an arm around him.

"We're all proud of you, Naruto-kun. Now go out there and win." She told him as the all got themselves ready to leave. Once preperartions were made. The troupe left en masse, bound for the Chuunin Exam Stadium.

_A/N: Chapter 4 finished! I know that people will get up in arms about bashing, but you know what? I don't really care! _

_Anyway, the road to the Chuunin Exams is finally at an end and Naruto stands prepared. He is now a better person in all aspects due to the family support from his newly gained Godparents and greatuncle, his cousin, the masters, and his three fiancees. Neji's got a nasty surprize in stroe for him when he faces the reborn Naruto Uzumaki!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey y'all. I'm back with the next chapter of HSD Naruto! I hope that this chapter measures up to the standard that my loyal readers deserve to recieve. A couple more characters from HSD Kenichi's world will make their appearance in the chapter, too, so keep your eyes out for them!_

_**CHUUNIN EXAM STADIUM**_

It was around high noon as the nearly everyone in the village and several foregin shinobi and dignitaries were in attendance, eagerly awaiting the start of the third and final phase of the Chuunin exams. Sarutobi, flanked by Jiraiya and Tsunade, made his appearance in the Kage's box along with the '_Kazekage'_, and his two bodyguards. The two Kage greeted each other formally and sat down to get the ball rolling. Underneath the disguise_** (Aww come on! We all know it's Orochi-pedo in disguise!)**_, Orochimaru was livid with rage.

_'What are THEY doing here? Now, this will be MUCH harder!'_ He inwardly snarled before turning to the chronologically advanced Hokage.

"A fine crop of Genin this year, Hokage-dono. My son Gaara, the Hyuuga boy, and the Uchiha in one group. Quite exciting." He said cooly.

Sarutobi smirked as he saw one Genin in particular. _'As always, overlooking those that aren't natural geniuses due to arrogance. I should have been a better teacher, but I'll take whatever advantage I can get...'_ "Yes...but I wouldn't be surprized if another contestant surprizes us yet again." He casually mentioned, causing the Wind Shadow to give him a puzzled look.

_'He couldn't mean...'_ Orochimaru wondered as the exams began.

Sarutobi stood up to address the crowd. "TO ALL THAT HAVE GATHERED HERE TODAY...WELCOME TO THE FINAL STAGE OF TEH CHUUNIN EXAMS! TODAY, WE WILL SEE THE DISPLAY OF SKILLS THESE YOUNG GENIN HAVE TO SHOW US AND SEE WHO AMONG THEM WILL BE CHOSEN FOR THE HONOR OF ADVANCEMENT TO THE RANK OF CHUUNIN!"

The crowd roared in applause in response to his announcement, causing his two former students to snicker. "You still know how to whip up a crowd, sensei." Jiraiya chuckled.

"Yes...I've still got it." Sarutobi replied with a smirk.

Down in the stands, the Ryouzanpaku gang plus Miu and Renka, Hiashi with his daughters, Tenmon and Raichi were all waiting with antcipation for Naruto's first match and were talking amongst themselves. Hinata, Renka, and Raichi got their first glimpse of Naruto's new ensemble and blushed prettily at the sight.

_'Wow...Naruto-kun looks good in these clothes.' _Hinata thought.

_'He was cute before, but now he looks kind of...heroic...'_ Raichi thought as her blush got darker.

Down in the arena, his new ensemble caught the eye of another kunoichi.

_'Is that the loudmouthed shrimp from last month? He's looking pretty scrumpcious...er, I mean, good!'_

A certain Snake Mistress was also taking in the young Genin with interest. _'I wish they made 'em like THAT when I was his age!'_

Nearby, the members of the Rookies that didn't make it were sitting together, Sakura letting her thoughts be known on Naruto's new look.

"That baka...If he thinks he can look even HALF as good as Sasuke-kun, he's even more of a loser than I thought! He'll never beat Neji, nevermind Sasuke-kun! " The foreheaded terror ranted, completely embarrassing Ino who was sitting next to her.

"Sakura...That's kind of mean. I mean, he's your teammate. I'd never treat Shikamaru or Chouji like that." Ino tried to reason with her to no avail. However, Ino had to admit that Naruto looked FAR better in this new outfit.

_'Where was he hiding those muscles at? I'm starting to see what Hinata sees now...'_ The blond girl thought.

"Hmph. Why stick up for those losers? I mean, it's not like they're Sasuke-kun or even have feelings or anything stupid like that." The pink haired harpy countered.

Next to Ino, Chouji was getting really pissed at Sakura for talking about his friends like that, but Ino put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from caving her face in. He, Shika, and Naruto hung out in the Academy all the time and Naruto wasn't really all that bad.

Miu was the one to hear her rantings and nearly ended her existance on the spot, but her grandfather held her back, saying that such a person was beneath her if she would so willingly slander and dishonor her comrades.

Down in the arena, Naruto was looking around for Sasuke, but he was nowhere to be found along with his useless _ex-_sensei. Shikamaru noticed him looking around.

"Sasuke's not here...Know where he is, Naruto?" Shika asked.

The last thing he expected was for Naruto to scowl and actually leak a hint of Ki at the mere mention of his _ex_-teammate and _ex-_sensei if he had any say in it.

"No. I don't." Naruto replied curtly.

Genma Shiranui, the replacement examiner, turned to them. "Hey, pop tall. All of these people are here to see you, so don't dissapoint them."

He then cleared his throat to announce the first match. "FIRST MATCH OF THE FINALS...NEJI HYUUGA VS. NARUTO UZUMAKI!" He bellowed.

The other fighters lept into the contestants box while Naruto and Neji remained.

Tenten was sitting near the others up in the stands with her sensei as she shook her head. "Naruto certainly looks stronger than before, but he just can't beat Neji. He's too strong." She said aloud.

"Really? Why do you think that?" Raichi asked, surprizing her.

"Well, Neji was the Rookie of the Year for our year, from a famous and powerful clan, and he's a genius." She replied.

"Oh? Is that all? Isn't one's worth decided on who they are inside? That's what Uncle Gai and my Tou-san always taught me, that geniuses are never what they're cracked up to be. Besides, Naruto-kun's a tough customer, too. I've got faith in him!" Raichi replied with a wide grin.

This left Tenten grasping for answers but drove home one fact that she didn't want to face : She sounded just as bad as those fangirls she despised.

"Uncle Gai! Hello! Where's Lee?" Asked the blond girl in pigtails upon spotting her uncle.

"Oh? Raichi-chan! How are you and your father doing? As for Lee-kun, he is still resting in the hospital today, saving up his youthful vigor to heal faster!" Gai proclaimed.

"That's nice! Daddy's sitting over there if you wanna talk to him!" Raichi told him cheerfully, pointing him out.

Tenten watch all of this with a wierded out look on her face. "Uh...You're, related to Gai-sensei and LEE? You don't look anything like them!" She exclaimed.

"Oh! Lee-kun is my cousin!" She explained as she left to rejoin the Ryouzanpaku group.

"I didn't know you had a nephew and niece, sensei?" Tenten asked.

"I do. I also helped her fiancee train a little for the finals today. Neji is facing him." Gai told her.

"Naruto? He's her fiancee?" Tenten whispered. Tenten remembered the girl from the Academy. Raichi was in her class and was just below her in the class rankings for Kunoichi of the year and the only person to have ever beat Neji in a spar. She remembered that he took it pretty badly, constantly challenging her to duels to save face and that she always rejected him. For some time, Tenten thought that Neji was crushing on her due to how much he hounded her for a fight, but it was just Neji being a sore loser in the end.

Hell, the girl didn't even bat an eye at the Uchiha that everyone seemed to fall apart over, as sickening as it was to see. From what she heard, Sasuke was trying to ensnare her into a betrothal contract, but Raichi's family, mainly her father and Raichi herself, vehemetly refused. She was the sort of girl that didn't care for titles or status, seemingly drawn towards another person in the Uchiha's class, the dead last.

It was finally time for the match to start as Neji and Naruto faced one another. The tension in the air was THICK. You-could-cut-it-with-a-knife thick, as the two glared at each other. Neji had been told by the elder council that if he defeated Naruto and Hinata was married off, he would take her place as the heir to the family. That meant that his curse seal would come off. He'd be damned if he missed out on both trashing a loser, getting rid of Hinata, AND getting rid of his curse seal all at once.

For Naruto, the stakes were even higher. He knew that Neji would not stop at only defeat. Neji WILL kill him if given the chance, not to mention that Hinata's future was riding on how well he performed this day. No. Neji will have to be defeated. Destroyed if he had to, but either way, he had to go.

Neji decided to call out his victory right off the bat. "Fate has already decreed me to be the winner of our match, Dead Last. If you decide to fight anyway, I'll just kill you and have Hinata-_sama_ watch as you die. I couldn't care less who's bed she winds up in after this." Neji sneered, making Naruto's blood boil.

Thankfully, his lessons with Akisame and Kensei taught him patience and from Sakaki how to channel his anger properly. No, he won't let Neji get him riled up and start playing his game. No, sir. Instead, the blond sucked in a deep breath and let it out, using some breathing control exercises taught to him by the masters before he replied.

"No. I will not allow anything to happen to Hinata-chan. She is very special to me and I will not fail her when she needs me the most, so bring it on, butt munch." Naruto replied, calmly at first, but let out a razor sharp and controlled burst of Ki at the end that made Neji flinch.

"Alright you two. Enough trash talk. _**FIGHT!**_" Genma announced, leaping out of the way of any potential blows.

Neji didn't like having his feathers and confidence ruffled, so he decided to kill Naruto right now and save some face.

As he charged in, some of Kensei's words came back to him.

_"Naruto-chan, when facing the Jyuuken, it is best to just avoid the attack completely. Even a glancing blow could prove fatal if there is enough chakra in it and in the right spot."_

To that end, he was trained to evade and counter, ensnaring the attacking limbs if possible. Luckily, Shigure's chainmail armor was able to be reinforced by his own chakra and since his chakra force is unlike anyone else's due to his...unique circumstances, that was something he had by the ass ton. For now, he didn't want to let that nasty little surprize out now did he? That would ruin the fun of owning this pompous

Sure enough, Neji's palm thrust was aimed right at his heart. Naruto slipped in low, allowing the blow to pass over him as he grabbed the arm and wrenched it as hard as he could. This resulted in Neji's shoulder being forcefully yanked from it's socket and limited his effectiveness greatly. Next, Naruto chambered a roundhouse kick that impacted on Neji's lower ribs, cracking a few of them and brusing the rest.

The Hyuuga prodigy stumbled back as he tried to regain his bearings. How was it possible for someone that struggled to defeat Kiba in the prelims to go toe-to-toe with him thus far? This new Naruto was dangerously skilled and knows about the Jyuuken from the way he countered. He then watched as Naruto slipped in a familiar stance, one that he'd seen Gai use before.

"Hey dobe...Where did you learn that style?" Neji demanded.

"It's none of your business." Naruto replied. His patience had worn out when Neji threatened to take Hinata from him. This asshole was going down.

Neji popped his shoulder back into place to continue fighting through the pain as he began a barrage of super fast thrusts, too fast for Naruto to catch and counter like before. After a moment of being bombarded. Neji finally scored a direct hit to Naruto's abdomen.

_'Ooof...there! Time for Phase two!'_ He thought. The first phase was to attack Neji's limbs while letting him think his Jyuuken was still effective. Now, the second phase was complete and total annhilation. Thanks to Shigure's armor, he was nearly immune to the Jyuuken.

From there, Neji used the Hakke Rokujyuyonsho to put Naruto out of business for good.

After the rain of blows, Naruto lay on his back, seemingly down for the count to the horror of his friends and family. However, the Ryouzanpaku crowd were calm. They knew what Naruto had in mind.

"Proctor-san...call the match. That trash is done for." Neji scoffed, but was met with silence.

"Didn't you hear me? I said call the..." He yelled, only to get interrupted by the sound of laughing. Looking around, he saw that the laughing was coming from Naruto, who was slowly getting up and brushing himself off like nothing happened.

Neji was now getting very worried. He knew he had executed the Sixty Four Palms perfectly, but Naruto just stood right up and shrugged it off like it was nothing. "Thanks of the massage, Neji-_chan_, but I like Hinata-chan's better. At least she can pack a wallop with her attacks, not like your stupid little love taps." Naruto taunted, goading Neji into a rage. As his Greatuncle told him, anger makes one sloppy and careless.

Neji screamed in rage as he charged Naruto again, but Naruto was ready for him this time. After deflecting Neji's attacks, he opened up with a series of blows form the Hakkyoukuken style. Palm to the face here, reverse kick to the stomach there. All of if ending with the first technique that Kensei showed him after cheering him up.

_**SHOUTENSHU!**_

A dual-palmed attack, using his entire body like a living piston, sent the prodigy flying away and rolling to a stop some ten yards away.

Shocked faces dotted the crowd at what the Dead last had pulled off. He was beating the Hyuuga genius like he owed him money and shrugged of the most powerful form of Taijutsu the world had ever known. However, loud cheering could be heard from a couple of places.

"WAY TO GO, OTOUTO-KUN!" Miu.

"THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! THAT'S OUR FUTURE HUSBAND!" Raichi, Renka, and Hinata.

"GO NARUTO-KUN! FIGHT WITH THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Come on...You know who this is.

"YOU CAN DO IT NARUTO!" Chouji

"OI! COME ON GAKI! QUIT FARTIN' AROUND AND FINISH THIS PUNK!" Sakaki, obviously.

"APA! GO, NARUTO-CHAN!" Really? Who else do you think talks like this?

Kensei was obviously proud that Naruto had all but mastered the Shoutenshu to be able to pull it off like he did, and so quickly too.

Neji stood up and was waiting for Naruto to make his move. Naruto, wanting to put Neji down for good, charged right in. Hinata saw what was happening, the chakra building around her cousin.

"NARUTO-KUN, NO!" She screamed, but was too late.

Neji smirked as he released chakra from every point on his body and began to spin.

_**KAITEN!**_

The rapidly rotating dome of chakra exploded out and slammed into the blond, tossing him back. He recovered in the air and began to think of a counter strategy.

Up in the stands, Hiashi was stunned that his nephew knew that technique. _'That was supposed to be a Main House only move...The elder council had to have taught his that.'_ He reasoned. The council will have much to answer for once this was all over. He could only hope that his future son-in-law could find some weakness in the jutsu to exploit.

_'That was all chakra! I think it's tme to unleash the Rasengan!' _He decided. Making a quick Kage Bunshin, he charged up one of his mini-cyclones and charged in to see which was stronger. Rasengan met Kaiten, both of them struggling for dominance. Finally, Naruto was forcefully thrown away, his Rasengan dispelled.

"Damn...I need more force..." He muttered, racking his brain for anything that could help him. Finally, he remembered back during his training, he created something that might work...

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Akisame had been wathcing him train and raised an eyebrow at what his student had done and accomplished. He noticed that he combined the movements for all of the Marital Arts he'd been taught into one, single blow and walked over to the dumbfounded boy._

_"Naruto-kun. Do you even realise what you just did?" He asked calmly._

_"Uh, n-no, Akisame-sensei." He replied, thinking he'd done something wrong. _

_The moustachio sighed. They were still having a rough time breaking him of feeling that everytime they stopped him he did something to anger them. "Naruto-kun, I want you to try what you just did again on another target."_

_Naruto gulped, but wanted to succeed. "HEYAHHH!" He roared as he repeated the process again, only this time adding more force into the blow. The training post was nearly reduced to sawdust as Naruto pulled back his fist, looking in awe as Akisame smiled._

_"What you just did was combined the basic movements for all of our styles into one blow, exponentially increasing the power of the punch. Now, all Marital Arts have a rythmn of sorts, but this had no rthymn at all, making the blow extremely difficult to predict or percieve. I think you just created your our signature techique, unique to only you. I'm proud of you." The wiry Jiujitsu Master applauded him._

_**FLASHBACK END**_

_'I never even named it...No rythmn, zero beat...Mubyoshi!'_ He mentally exclaimed as he charged up another Rasengan.

Neji noticed and scoffed at his efforts. "A wasted effort, trash, but try if you will. None can break through this, the ultimate defense of the Hyuuga."

_'Yeah, just keep talking, jackass.'_ Naruto thought as he got himself ready for another attack run.

"RRRAAHHHH!" Naruto roared as he barrelled down on Neji.

"HA! WORTHLESS!" Neji yelled.

_**KAITEN!**_

Naruto stopped just shy of the shell of rotating chakra and got into his stance, then, combining all that he was taught, thrust the mini-cyclone at the Kaiten.

_**MUBYOSHI RANSENGAN!**_

With multiple times the force from before, the Rasengan broke through the Kaiten with force to spare, hitting it's intended target and sending him flying end over end, finally impacting the arena floor and leaving Neji near unconscious in a smoking crater.

"H-h-how... It was your destiny to die at my hand. How d-did a failure like you beat me?" Neji asked, his breathing ragged.

"If fate decided everything, I wouldn't even be alive right now. Quit being such a damn baby and take some responsibility for your life instead of letting everyone boss you around." Naruto replied harshly.

"Y-you don't...know what it's like t-to carry a seal that...controls your life against your will!" Neji shouted angrily.

"I DO KNOW YOU SON OF A BITCH! More than you could ever imagine..." Naruto trailed off, clutching his stomach, where the Kyuubi's seal resided.

Genma smirked. "He's a hell of a kid...The Fourth sure picked the right kid for the job." He whispered with a grin as he raised Naruto's arm.

"WINNER...NARUTO UZUMAKI!"

The entire crowd was awe-struck. The dead last had defeated the genius completely, totally, utterly. He also broke through the most powerful defensive technique they knew of to do it with a move that was thought to be lost with their beloved Yondaime.

Akisame was smiling down on his student. He was the one who helped Naruto develope the move he just used and thought on the name. _'Mubyoshi? Zero Rythmn, huh? It fits, Naruto-kun. It defininately fits.'_

The Hyuuga council was livid with the fact that with all that they did to tip the scales in their favor, Naruto STILL won! They just couldn't believe it! Now, their plans to get Hinata out of the way were ruined and Hiashi's political power within the clan was secured, along with his choice of heir.

Hiashi, on the other hand, was extremely proud of Naruto for coming through for his daughter, fighting with all of his heart for her sake. His belief that Naruto would be a good husband for his daughter was reinforced. He stood up and left to go talk to his misguided nephew, to tell him the truth.

Hinata was crying happily, their future together now assured. The other two girls were glad that Hinata wouldn't be taken from them.

Elsewhere in the stands, two Chuunin were also impressed with the young blond and the skills he showed in beating a Hyuuga at their own game.

"Heh, the squirt's not half bad, eh Takeda?" A short, petite red-headed young woman of at least 18 commented.

"Yeah...the bozu was really something out there. He has the right attitude, in that he's not an arrogant jerk. I might wanna work with him if he makes Chuunin. What do you think, Chibi-chan?" Kisara Nanjo's much taller companion, Takeda Ikki, called out.

"Don't call me Chibi-chan, you jerk! But yeah, he might be fun to work with." She admonished, but also agreed.

Ino and Chouji couldn't believe what they just saw. This new Naruto was certainly a sight to behold. He carried himself differently, with more confidence and a determined gait. Although, Ino caught that bit about an unwanted seal. '_Maybe that's what my dad was trying to tell me back when he asked me to be Naruto's friend. But what kind of seal could be so awful as to have the whole village hate him over it? What happened to you, Naruto?'_

Sakura in her seat, just huffed in annoyance. "I don't see what's so special. Sasuke-kun could have done it, too. He would have been better than that baka." She said, making everyone around her roll their eyes in annoyance.

Tenten had to scrape her jaw off of the ground. "N-no way...Neji lost?" She stammered out.

"See what I meant about geniuses?" Raichi chirped with a wink as she made her way over to the contestants box to see him, Renka and Hinata hot on her heels.

Miu watched her cousin and little brother as he lept back up into the contestant's box. She was very proud of how far he had come in only a month with them. When he first came to them, his form was a real mess, his psyche was nearly damaged beyond repair, and his control was shot, yet he could still put up quite a fight. Now, she wasn't too sure that if he was going all out that she could match him before long. She knew about the demon within him and the distinct advantages it gave him, such as his superhuman stamina and endureance, and his superhealing. A good night's rest would fix nearly anything, no matter what the masters did to him, and he'd bounce right back, a little stronger than before.

Tsunade and Jiraiya watched their Godchild with pride. They were angry with both the village and themselves, the village for keeping them away from him, Tsunade at herself for not bothering to check for herself, and Jiraiya for not being able to do more. But that was the past. Now, they have their Godson and they would be damned if they didn't make up for lost time. Tsunade was willing to adopt Naruto, to take him in as she intended to the night he was both born and orphaned, but she would have to run it by Hayato first. He established Legal Guardianship over Naruto a month ago.

While the proctors cleaned up the arena as best they could, Naruto was visited by his future wives in the box in the way of nearly getting mugged. Shino raised an eyebrow, Shikamaru's jaw was on the ground in shock. Kankuro huffed in jealousy and Temari was feeling a little jealous, too. Gaara was...well, just Gaara.

"Hey Naruto...You know these girls?" Shikamaru asked his former classmate, gesturing to Renka and Raichi. He already knew Hinata.

"Yeah!" He replied, making introductions to his two buddies in the box. The three girls were asked to leave by a few of the proctors and did so reluctantly. They refused to leave without giving and recieveing some affection, in the form of kissing him on the cheek for luck in his next match.

"Man...I hope you know what you know what you got yourself into, Naruto. One woman is troublesome enough." Shika whispered to Naruto, who shook his head.

"They encouraged me and cheered me on, and even love me. To someone like me, who's been alone for almost all of my life, they mean the world to me. They'll never be troublesome to me." He replied with a smile, Shika matching it.

"Well, if anyone could even remotely pull this off, I'd bet on you." The lazy Nara answered with a lazy grin.

Down in the arena, the proctors had finally finished making the field useable as Genma called for the next match.

"SECOND MATCH, UCHIHA SASUKE VS. GAARA!"

Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand down in the arena, awaiting his opponent. Muttering rippled through the crowd, wondering where their precious Uchiha was. Up in the Kage's box, Sarutobi and his two _loyal_ students were wondering just that, as well.

"Where the hell is that idiot Hatake? He should have been here at the opening on the tournament!" Tsunade growled.

"I don't know, but his and the Uchiha's reps won't save them here, right Sensei?" Jiraiya said.

Sarutobi gave them a grim nod. "I know the council will throw a fit over this, I will not tolerate this tardiness on such an important day. Sasuke Uchiha is disqualified." The old Hokage agreed with his two students.

The _Kazekage_ looked as if he had been struck physically. "Let's not be too hasty now, Hokage-dono. Many of the people here, dignitaries included, have come simply to see my son and the Uchiha fight."

"No. Rules are rules. If you arrive late to a battlefield, you may have just gotten your comrades killed. If he is not responsible enough to show up at an appointed time, he does not deserve to be a Chuunin." Sarutobi replied, his tone as cold and firm as it was in his prime.

Not wanting to push his luck any further, Orochimaru backed off of the subject. _'Damn that old man! Now of all times, he decided to grow a spine!'_ He fumed as he sat there, awaiting another opportunity to enact his plan.

Sarutobi relayed his instructions to one of his Jounin, who lept down to Genma, who shook his head. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! SINCE UCHIHA SASUKE HAS FAILED TO SHOW UP FOR HIS MATCH, HE HAS BEEN DISQUALIFIED! WINNER IS GAARA BY DEFAULT!"

As Sarutobi and the proctors expected, this decision was met with a massive outcry from a mass majority of the populace who wanted to see their precious Uchiha in action. The older shinobi in the crowd, along with many of the dignitaries, understood why Sarutobi made the decision he did and supported it. A shinobi who could not show up on time in unreliable and is a liability, therefore is unworthy of becoming a Chuunin. Gaara with a scowl of disappiontment, teleported himself back up to the waiting area.

"WHAT? THEY CAN'T DO THAT! SASUKE-KUN NEEDS TO GET HIS PROMOTION! COME ON INO-PIG! LET'S GO TELL HOKAGE-SAMA OFF FOR DOING THIS TO POOR SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura ranted, trying to drag Ino with her.

"Let me go! He got disquailfied because he couldn't even bother to show up on time like everyone else did! Do this by yourself!" Ino yelled at her. Her friendship with the pink haired girl at this point was now looking to be permanently severed.

"I can't believe you're abandoning Sasuke-kun, you traitor! He doesn't need hussies like you or those skanks that Naruto-baka hangs around with to help him build his clan!" The She-Banshee raged as she stomped up to the Kage's box.

A few minutes saw Sakura up in the Kage's box, where she just stormed past the guards and stomped up to the elderly shinobi leader.

"Why did you disqualify Sasuke-kun? He needs that promotion more than these other losers, especially that blond Dobe, Naruto!" She screehed.

After everyone in the booth let their hearing come back, they all glared death at the girl. Even Orochimaru was getting really annoyed with her.

_'What an unpleasant little girl...Tsunade wasn't anywhere near this bad.'_ The Snake pedophile thought with a scowl.

"What do you want you little shit?" Tsunade yelled at her.

"Shut up, you big breasted cow! I want Hokage-sama to let Sasuke-kun fight and get promoted and I won't leave until he does!" Pink-zilla demanded, her rail thin arms crossed defiantly.

Tsunade did a slow burn as her temper was quickly reaching an meltdown of Chernobyl-like proportions. Noticing this Jiraiya grabbed her and restrained her.

"Tsunade, calm down!" Jiraiya yelled at her.

"Damn you, Jiraiya! Let me kill this little shit! Nobody talks about my godson or especially me like that! Especially not some scrawny little Uchiha slut of a fangirl!" She roared.

The names to the two clicked inside of her Uchiha riddled brain. "Ji-Jiraiya? T-Tsunade?" She whimpered. She had just insulted two of the legendary Sannin, the Slug Princess Tsunade and the Toad sage, Jiraiya. On top of that, one of the contestants she had just insulted was their GODSON. She was officially up to neck deep in shit creek with no canoe in sight.

Two ANBU appeared by the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, do you wish for us to remove this...intruder?" The cat masked female captain asked, turning what everyone could tell was a disgusted gaze at the sniviling fangirl.

"Yes. Detain her until the end of the Chuunin exams in an ANBU cell. We WILL have a nice long chat about this with her parents present." He ordered as she was apprehended and taken to the ANBU jails until further notice.

"Now that she has been taken care of, we will continue." Sarutobi ordered.

Genma, seeing that the disturbance was over, announced the next match.

"NEXT MATCH...ABURAME SHINO VS. KANKURO!"

"Proctor...I forfeit the match!" The black suited puppet user called out.

Shino's usually stoic face now showed a scowl. He had wanted to fight and try to get his promotion, but now his chances were not looking too good.

"NEXT MATCH...TEMARI VS. NARA SHIKAMARU!" Genma yelled, just wanting to get this over with.

Temari, her patience finally breeched, whipped out her fan and floated down to the floor on an air current, folding her fan with a dramatic flourish of movement. Kankuro palmed his face. "She just can't resist the urge to show off..." He muttered.

Shikamaru just groaned. "Aw man...I gotta fight another girl? I'll just forfeit like that Kankuro guy..." He whined until Naruto reminded him of something.

"If you forfeit now, your mom's gonna kill you later, you know that right?" He told Shika, who went white as a sheet.

"Yeah...I see your point." The lazy Genin stammered, having locked eyes with said woman, who gave him a glare that foretold of hellish suffering should he cop out. He quickly hopped down to the arena floor without wasting anymore time.

"Come on...Let's fight already!" Temari yelled out impatiently.

_**Now, since everyone KNOWS how the fight goes, we'll press on to the entree of the matches...NARUTO VS. GAARA!**_

But first...

Naruto's friends, loved ones, and family were all pensive about this match, as it would truly test the fruits of his training to it's limits. Jiraiya had taught him multiple Suiton jutsu with which to combat Gaara's sand, just in case he fought with him. Even so, Naruto's Ninjutsu arsenal needed the updating, considering all he had before was two Academy basics, the Kage Bunshin, and the Tree Climbing exercise. Now, he had several Suiton jutsu, a few basic Fuuton jutsu, a Doton jutsu, the Rasengan, and the Kuchiyose : Gama.

Genma was glad that the first round was over and they were now in the semi-finals.

"WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE SEMI-FINALS! FIRST MATCH...GAARA VS. UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

The crowd was sitting on the edge of their seats about this match. For those who knew about Naruto's little tenant, this would be demon against demon. For the others, this was promising to be the fight of the century. Naruto, the underdog who soundly defeated the Hyuuga prodigy, against the best Suna has to offer.

Shino and Shikamaru both gave Naruto a nod, with Shikamaru warning him to be careful, as Naruto vaulted down to the floor near the proctor. Gaara teleported himself down there, eager to fight his fellow jinchuuriki.

Naruto knew what he was getting into with Gaara, and trusted that his Godfather and Greatuncle had prepared him for this, helping him craft the tools needed to survive. He sighed at the thought of not getting to prove himself against Sasuke and prove Kakashi wrong about him, but he wanted to get a measure of payback for what happened to Lee and possibly rescue a fellow demon container from himself. Beating some sense into someone usually works where words fail, right?

Just before Genma could start the match, a plume of smoke erupted inbetween the two contestants. A swirl of wind and leaves blew away the smoke to reveal Sasuke and Kakahsi, standing back to back in a dramatic pose. Everyone glared at them, but Kakashi spoke first.

"Hey everybody! We're not late are we?" He asked, pulling out his imfamous Icha Icha book.

"Yes, you are, Kakashi. Get out of the arena." Genma ordered harshly.

"What about Sasuke? Won't he get to fight?" Kakashi asked, pressing for leniency.

"Uchiha Sasuke has been disqualified, Kakashi. Now leave the arena now." Genma repeated himself.

Sasuke was livid. His chance to showoff was now ruined and given to someone else.

"What? Give me the Dobe's spot and let me fight!" Sasuke demanded.

Both Gaara and Naruto were not amused by the braggart. "Go away, Uchiha. You do not interest me." Gaara told him in his dead, monotone voice.

"He's right, teme. You're in the way." Naruto added, agreeing with his opponent.

Sasuke's rage built to it's peak as he lept at Naruto, his Sharingan spinning in his crazed anger. Naruto waited until he was right on top of him, then he sidestepped the blow, spinning to the side and delivering a harsh knife hand chop to the base of his skull, like Akisame-sensei and Ero-sensei taught him. The blow left Sasuke dazed and confused, wobbling around like a helpless baby animal.

"Too scared to fight me like a man, Dobe?" Sasuke sneered drunkenly, still reeling from the hit.

Naruto snapped. "Genma-san...I'll fight the Teme, if only to prove that I deserve to be here." Naruto muttered turning to Gaara, knowing what he wanted most.

"Gaara, you okay with this? This way, you'll face a truly strong opponent." He reasoned.

Gaara seemed to accept this. "Hurry. Mother's hunger grows." He said in his dead fashion, but with intoned urgency.

Sasuke chortled arrogantly. "This will be easy."

Naruto's features hardened at this. "Really? Do you think it'll be that easy?" Naruto asked, amused.

Naruto's eased posture sent Sasuke into a tizzy. "Why are you so calm, loser?" The self-proclaimed avenger yelled in anger.

"I just feel really good right now." Naruto replied, grinning like a fox.

Sasuke always hated that smile of his as he barrelled down on the smiling Genin, his Sharingan blazing.

Naruto had been training for this. He flooded the arena with as much chakra as he could muster, effectively hiding him form the Eye of Thieves.

To Sasuke, it was like staring at the sun. The kind of chakra output Naruto was packing seemed inhuman, too much for his vaunted eyes to endure, so he had to shut them down.

"Fine, then. It's not like I'll need my Sharingan to beat down a loser like you." He snarled as he de-activated his eyes, sliding into the Uchiha fighting form.

Naruto simply looked at his with carefully maintained calm, looking for any telltale signs of movement, something Sakaki-sensei taught him to read...

_"Listen up, gaki! Every opponent has a some kind of tick or habit that can give away their movements. Look for it!"_ The mountainous Karate master's words echoed in his head.

Sure enough, he picked up the tensing of Sasuke's leg muscles and prepared for the inevitable frontal assualt. Sasuke raced forward and tried to drop Naruto in one blow, using a spinning roundhouse kick to the face, but thanks to his grappling training from Akisame-sensei, he grabbed Sasuke's attack at the ankle and used Sasuke's momentum against him, sending him flying away in embarrassment.

Sasuke punched the ground from where he knelt down. _'Damn that dobe! First, he does something to my Sharingan, now he's making look like a fool! I'LL KILL HIM!'_

Black markings were beginning to appear on his skin as his face contorted into a vicious snarl, rage and embarrassment plain as day in his eyes. He threw himself at Naruto again, attempting to strike at another percieved weakness, Taijutsu.

Naruto slipped into Apachai's Muay Thai, dodging the first blow from Sasuke and countering with a flying knee, which was followed up by a series of jabs, forearms and elbows to keep Sasuke from getting at breathing room. Finally, Naruto caught him with a forearm shot to the jaw, disorienting and stunning him, then a gut shot and a powerful front kick to his ribs that left the supposed prodigy sprawled out.

"Had enough yet, Teme?" Naruto asked. Naruto wanted to put Sasuke down with minimal fuss, as he still had to face Gaara.

Sasuke slowly scraped himself up, nursing his injured ribs as he stood. He was livid, furious, that his dead last teammate was the one who was dominating this fight and he was holding back. Naruto pointed out an ugly truth about the Uchiha, that nearly all except for very few, were mediocre at the very best without their Sharingan to aid them. It was a crutch which had made them arrogant, and now that Naruto had found a countermeasure, he was returning the favor from all of the times the Uchiha ever beat, embarrassed, and abused him. This shame didn't sit well at all as he lept back to get some room.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed madly as he formed the killing move he was given by Kakashi.

_**CHIDORI!**_

Naruto was alarmed that Sasuke would pull out something that looked so lethal during an exam, but was staying calm. All of his sensei told him that losing his cool could cost him his life in situations like these.

Off to the side, Kakashi's face held a triumphant smirk, wanting his star student to put this blond upstart back where they felt he belonged, at their feet. Genma was frowning at the usage of a known killing jutsu against a fellow Konoha shinobi in an advancement exam. Sarutobi's two students and Naruto's Godparents were fuming mad. They knew who taught him that jutsu, and he was going to be dealt with after the exams.

The Ryouzanpaku masters were calm. They had come at Naruto at far greater speeds than this boy could even dream of achieving, so they had faith that Naruto could counter.

"Hmph. No technique at all. All show." Sakaki harrumphed.

"I agree. Should a so called assassination jutsu made such a racket?" Akisame added.

Ino's first reaction was going to be to cheer Sasuke on and boo Naruto, but lately, Sasuke just lost his appeal and now with her blinders off, she saw just how bad Sasuke really was. She also talked with the girls who had been around Naruto as of late and discovered that he's really a good guy. That annoying exterior was shed once people paid attention to him, since he didn't need it anymore.

_'Naruto...after the exams are over, I'm going to apologize to you for being such a bitch to you for all these years.'_ She made up her mind on her course of action.

Sasuke raced in, his lighhtning coated fist leading the way and aimed directly at his heart, aiming to kill. Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn't around when he fought Neji, so the same tactic he used to counter Neji's Kaiten. So, Naruto readied himself, and charged up a Rasengan and waited until Sasuke got within range. He was careful to adjust the Rasengan's power, because he didn't want the villager's accusing him of trying to kill their precious teme. Finally, Sasuke was in range and Naruto let his attack fly.

_**MUBYOUSHI RASENGAN!**_

The Rasengan and the Chidori clashed in a brilliant light, but only for a second. The Rasengan, with the added force of the Mubyoushi, completely destroyed the Chidori before it disappeared. Sasuke's now normal arm sailed over Naruto's, allowing the full force the blond's powerful Taijutsu move to impact Sasuke's stomach. End result? Sasuke nearly got his stomach forcefully shoved out of his asshole and thrown back into the stadium wall, cracks from his impact leaving spider web like patterns on it.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide. "Whoa...Sasuke just got his ass handed to him." He commented before getting back to his usual self.

"Whatever, that punk ass Uchiha had it coming, anyway." He added.

"I quite agree. Uchiha-san's arrogance has been quite intolerable." Shino agreed.

Kakashi was enraged at his prize jutsu being beaten so easily, leaping down to confront who he thought was still his Genin. However, he was even more angry at what jutsu Naruto used to deflect the Chidori.

"What? How does he know that jutsu and who could have taught it to him?" The copy-nin growled as he lept down into the arena. He knew that it was the Fourth's own original jutsu, but it was never taught to him and that was what drove him to create the Raikiri, in an effort to compete with him.

"Naruto! Who taught you that jutsu? WHO?" Kakashi demanded angrily as he bore down on the blond, but Genma intervened.

"The Uchiha was in the way and so are you, Hatake. Now scrape him up and leave before I have the ANBU make you." The toothpick chewing Jounin ordered.

"This isn't over..." Kakashi growled as he picked up Sasuke and left the arena.

"Now, before we were rudely interrupted, let's get this started." Genma told the two Genin.

"SEMI-FINALS FIRST MATCH...GAARA OF SUNA VS. UZUMAKI NARUTO OF KONOHA! FIGHT!

Naruto and Gaara watched each other, having seen each other fight before. Gaara had to admit that Naruto had gotten much better and faster than he was before, and felt that he wasn't out of tricks yet.

On the other hand, Naruto just had a gut feeling that Gaara was just holding back what he could really do, hiding something other than the Shukaku. Remembering back to Lee's match against the bloodthristy Genin, he knew that his sand had to be avioded at all costs.

Naruto weaved through handseals and fired off a Suiton jutsu to start things off.

_**SUITON : TEPPOUDAMA!**_

Naruto spat out a large ball of high velocity water at his opponent. Like clockwork, Gaara's sand rose to protect him from the projectile. But something was wrong afterwards. His sand was sluggish in returning to him. Gaara looked down at his sand and saw that it was soggy and muddy. Glaring at the blond, who was weaving through more handseals, he sent out multiple tendrils of sand to impale his enemy. Naruto ducked and weaved his way through the spikes of sand and fired off another jutsu.

_**SUITON : MIZURAPPA! **_

A torrent of water lightly flooded the arena floor to about ankle deep due to how much chakra Naruto poured into the jutsu. After recovering from the jutsu usage, the blond lept on top of the water, running right at his opponent a top speed. Gaara tried to erect a sand shield, but it wouldn't obey his commands. Just as a look of shock took over his features, Naruto was already on top of him, laying into him with everything he had. Slowly, Gaara's Suna no Yoroi cracked, giving out under the intense punishment Naruto was dishing out. With a final spinning roundhouse kick to the face, Gaara was sent sprawling to the ground.

Slowly, Gaara stood back up and uncorked his gourd on his back, tapping into his emergency supply of sand and using it to encase himself in a cocoon of some sort to protect himself.

"So, he's gonna try to hide? Maybe the Rasengan'll break through the barrier." Naruto reasoned as he made a Kage Bunshin to help him concentrate. After it was finished, Naruto pelted at the barrier at full tilt but as soon as he was within a certain range, more sand spears shot out of the sphere, nearly impaling him and disrupting his jutsu.

_'Man...I never thought I'd be thankful for Shigure-sensei's dodging practice!'_ Naruto thought as he backed off to regroup.

After creatin several Kage Bunshin to be on standby to launch more Suiton jutsu when the sand attacks him while closing in, he finally made it past Gaara's defenses and manages to plunge his Rasengan into the Sand Shell and a subsequent explosion that ripped into Gaara's shoulder, drawing blood.

Gaara screamed in pain as he held his shoulder, pulling his hand away to inspect the warm, sticky fluid that was no flowign from his person.

"Blood...You made me bleed...my own blood! I'll KILL YOU!" Gaara screamed as he began to transform into some kind of grotesque monster, half human, half tanuki.

Up in the Kage's box, Orochimaru smirked. This was the signal to begin to invasion as white feathers fell upon the stadium and it's occupants causing all those caught unaware to be caught in a sleeping genjutsu. Suna and Oto shinobi began to lay siege the village, overrunning the gates and flooding into the village. More shinobi invaded the stadium and began to clash with the defenders.

Orochimaru threw off his disguise and revealed himself to the world and his old teacher, holding him with a kunai at his throat. "Orochimaru. You've fallen even further, I see." Sarutobi sighed.

"Kukuku...I see that you've gotten soft and senile, old man. You couldn't even see through my disguise, neither could that Dobe Jiraiya or our dear princess." Orochimaru sneered, also making jabs at his former teammates.

To his surprize, neither one of his ex-teammates made a move against him to save their sensei, his suspicions rising. Suddenly, Sarutobi vanished in a plume of smoke along with his teammates, leaving behind logs with exploding tags on them.

_'Shit! They knew!'_ He thought as the tags exploded. He and his personal elite guard managed to get away from the explosions and found the three on the roof, Sarutobi in his black battle gear and armor, ready to fight. Orochimaru responded by spitting up his Kusanagi sword, getting into a basic Kenjutsu stance.

"You've grown even more arrogant, Orochimaru. That will be your downfall." The old Hokage addressed his former student and one of his biggest regrets. He then bit his finger for some blood and went through a series of seals, slamming his hands down.

_**KUCHIYOSE NO JUSTU : ENKOU ENMA!**_

In a plume of smoke, a large monkey summon appeared next to Sarutobi.

_**"Hiruzen, I told you that we should have killed him when we had the chance."**_ Enma growled, glowering at the Snake Sannin.

"I know, old friend. Now, we will rectify that mistake." Sarutobi replied in a steeled voice, showing the man he was in his prime.

_**HENGE : KONGONYOI!**_

Enma had been transformed into the Adamantine Staff, an homage to the legendary Monkey King, Son Goku, from times beyond ancient.

A barrier of purple fire erupted around the edges of the roof they were on, killing three ANBU who tried to jump in. Orochimaru gave his former team a sinister grin as he weaved through handseals.

"Now, sensei, Jiraiya-dobe, Tsunade-chan. There is no escape. Who's being arrogant now?" Orochimaru sneered at them, a trio of coffins rising from the roof behind him.

As Gaara thrashed in pain, Baki, his team's Jounin sensei along with his siblings, all piled in front of the demented Genin.

"Damn! He's losing control!" Bako cursed, turing to the other two.

"Temari! Kankuro! Get him out of here!" He ordered, the two genin obeying their orders. Grabbing Gaara, they lept over the village walls, bounding off into the forests to make their escape.

Naruto was about to go after them, but Baki moved to stop him. Just before he could strike, Genma blocked the attack, giving Naruto some cover. "Give 'em hell, kid!" Genma told him as Naruto took off.

Shikamaru and Shino both shook off the genjutsu and saw what was happening. Naruto had already been through two tough fights and now he was throwing himself into a larger one. The two of them decided that they couldn't let him do this alone so they went after him to cover his back.

Up in the stands, Sasuke had recovered and was seething with anger and jealousy, his calling cards. He then tore off after Naruto to settle the score for his humiliation.

Dispelling the Genjutsu, Kisara and Takeda were fighting back to back with their signature fighting styles. The lithe and limber Kisara was using her powerful legs in conjunction with a powerful, but obscure Taijutsu style called Tae Kwon Do, which focused on the lower body and on ones core, along with incredible flexibility and acrobatic skill.

"Deeyaahh!" She roared as she unleashed a powerful, sweeping roundhouse that killed an Oto nin instantly.

Near her was her partner since her Genin days, Takeda, utilizing a fighting style that was even more obscure in the ninja world which came from over the seas from the far west, called Boxing. This style relied of a powerful core and upper body to deliver truly devastating punches that hit like a frieght train packed full of anvils.

"Orrraaahhh!" He yelled as he snapped out with a hellishly powerful haymaker that knocked a Suna nin into the next zip code.

"Hey Chibi-chan! You holdin' up alright?" He asked his long time friend.

"Yeah...I'm alright. And don't call me CHIBI-CHAN!" She ranted as she vented her frustration on a few hapless enemy nin.

"Stay safe, Kisara..." He whispered. He made a promise to his dead teammate and friend since he was in diapers, Kouzo Ukita, to protect her at the cost of his own life. This was a promise that meant everything to him.

Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant who was dressed as an ANBU, smirked as his genjutsu took hold and did its job. However, as his eyes fell upon a certain group of spectators, the genjutsu didn't effect them at all and they were all glaring at him!

A group of Oto shinobi he had sent attempted attack them, but let's bear in mind that the key word here is _**ATTEMPT**_. The combined Ki from all of the masters, Hayato, Miu, Hiashi, and Tenmon caused them all to pass out in shock and fear, a couple of whom had a heart attack.

They all took stock of the situation : It was open warfare with innocent civilians caught in the crossfire here and many more in the village. They knew what had to be done.

"I guess I'll handle things here." Sakaki said while he stretched his back with a loud pop.

"I'll help out here too, Sakaki-kun." Kensei spoke up.

"I'll help you papa!" Renka piped up, the other two girls nodding in agreement.

Hayato shook his head. "No, Renka-chan. Naruto-chan will need help. Follow him to help fight the Suna genin. The rest of you girls should follow along. I have faith that you all." The Ryouzanpaku elder told them seriously.

As they took off, Miu blocked a blow from another Oto shinobi and kicked him away. "Jii-san, I'll follow them and help Otouto-kun." Miu told her grandfather.

"No...I'll go and...help him. Stay here and...help protect the...civilians." Shigure Spoke up, a determined look on her face.

Miu was about to protest, but her grandfather stalled her. "Miu-chan, we will need to you help protect the defenseless civilians." He told her gently as he turned towards where Sarutobi was.

"Where are you going, elder?" Akisame asked.

"To help an old friend." Was all he said as he vanished in a burst of pure speed.

The remaining masters split up to different parts of the village : Sakaki and Kensei at the stadium, Apachai and Akisame into the village to help repel enemy forces, Shigure to help Naruto and keep him covered, and finally Hayato went to help out Sarutobi. Tenmon and Hiashi both nodded to each other and left to defend their respective families, mowing down any and all Oto and Suna shinobi they encountered along the way.

The battle was reaching a fever pitch as Apachai and Akisame arrived in the village proper and lent their support. At first, they were laughed at and told to go a wait in a shelter, but after Apachai booted one Suna Jounin over the horizon and Akisame turned another into a pretzel with only a single movement, they accepted aid. The normally gentle giant became a raging berserker when he saw that children were getting hurt, decimating all enemy shinobi in his area and getting the children to the hospital, where he stood guard and wiped out ANY enemy that approached. Akisame lent his medical skills to the hospital staff by treating the wounded that came in along with providing extra security.

Back at the stadium, Kensei and Sakaki made a small competition to see how many enemy shinobi they could take out. Nearby, Kakashi and Gai were watching on, stunned at what these two non-shinobi could pull off and they were making it seem so easy, too. Kakashi turned to his side and noticed that Sasuke was gone and had taken off after Naruto.

"Damn..." He muttered, summoning one of his hounds.

"What is it, Kakashi?" Pakkun, his main tracking hound, asked in a bored tone.

"I need you to lead me to Sasuke." He ordered the small pug.

Pakkun sighed. Again, Kakashi was more worried about the Uchiha than his other students. He sniffed the air "Fine. He's off this way. A few other scents are off this way, as well. One of them has a demonic scent." Pakkun warned.

Kakashi's eyes went wide at the news. "Let's go. Now." He ordered as they took off at full tilt in the direction the Genin left in.

Back on the roof, Orochimaru wasn't out of tricks yet. Running through handseals at a blinding pace, once fininshed he slammed his hands down on the rooftiles. Doing this caused a trio of coffins to rise from the roof. With a sickening smirk, he finished his jutsu.

_**KUCHIYOSE : EDO TENSEI!**_

The lids of the coffins slid open to reveal three of the village's greatest heroes. The Sho, Nii, and Yondaime Hokages stepped from the coffins, their faces deviod of emotion. Orochimaru, true to his nature, wanted to savor the looks on the faces of his enemies before acting. Both Sannin, and Sarutobi gasped in horror at who Orochimaru had dragged from their rightfully earned eternal rest.

"How dare you disturb the dead, Orochimaru? Have you no shame? No low to which you will not sink?" Sarutobi growled.

"Saru...you have grown so old." Hashirama called out to his former student.

"Heh, he always called ME old...How the tables have turned." Tobirama teased. The two brothers noticed Tsunade.

"Tsu-chan...You've certainly grown up into a beautiful woman. Mito would be so proud." Hashirama said, smiling sadly.

"I'll say! Where was Mito-chan hiding those?" Tobirama commented on Tsunade's more than generous bust only to be conked on the head by his elder brother.

"Tobi, that's my granddaughter and your Greatniece." Hashirama admonished.

"Fine. Spoiled sport." Tobirama sulked, crossing his arms.

Minato opened his eyes and peered around him, his eyes locking onto his old sensei.

"Ero-sensei!" He called out to the Toad Sage in an almost singsong voice while waving.

"Gahh! Little brat! Even in death, he STILL calls me that!" Jiraiya pouted indignantly, folding his arms across his chest.

Orochimaru was growing tired of this little reunion and was about to plant his control seals on the three living corpses when a massive shock made the building they were standing on tremble as if a great earthquake had struck.

Just beyond the barrier, Hayato Fuurinji had landed and was getting briefed on the situation by the ANBU Captain on scene. Orochimaru saw the man and nearly wet himself.

_'NO! NOT HIM? HE IS A MONSTER IN HUMAN FORM!'_ Orochimaru mentally screamed in terror. He remembered the one time that the "Invincible Superman" dropped in on his team's training when he was a genin and offered to train them for a day while Sarutobi tended to his wife, who was giving birth to their first child. The insane man's training methods made the normally unflappable pale prodigy scream for mercy, an embarrassment that he never lived down.

Jiraiya noticed his discomfort and smirked. "Hey, Orochi-chan. I thought that snakes were supposed to hiss, not squeal like little piglets?" He snickered.

Orochimaru's temper flared as he attempted to retort when the entire roof shook again. Hayato slammed his fist down into the corner of the roof, where one of Orochimaru's Lieutenants was trying to uphold his end to the barrier. Jiroubo's concertraition was broken when he fell to his death, crushed by the debris of the falling building.

The barrier flickered and died out, allowing Hayato access inside. The massive old man noticed his nephew and smiled sadly.

"Uncle!" Minato called out, running up to his relative.

"How is Naruto? Is he well?" Minato asked of his sensei and uncle.

"Minato, now isn't the time. We have to take care of a little problem first..." Jiraiya explained. He and Tsunade told the three ex-Kage's of Orochimaru's treachery and it made them very angry. They now turned on their summoner.

"You should be obeying me! I summoned you!" The Snake Sannin snarled.

_'Damn! I would have had a hard enough time fighting off the old joke and his two loyal dogs, but now that insane lunatic and three Kage's? I cannot hope to win...' _Orochimaru reasoned as he signaled to his remaining guard, who beat a hasty retreat.

As the ANBU squads made to take off in pursuit, Sarutobi halted them, re-directing their efforts into repelling the remaining invaders. The figures of the three Kage's didn't have much longer now that Orochimaru wasn't there to hold the jutsu. Minato was told of his son's life and he was rightly angered by it, especially with Kakashi for all but abandoning his son. But, he was extremely proud of the way his son pulled through. However, he didn't want to cause his son more pain than he already has.

"Don't tell him about this." Minato pleaded. It would hurt Naruto more to know that he was brought back only to die again. They all agreed to do so for the boy's sake. Minato pulled Jiraiya in close.

"Sensei...Inside the forbidden scroll, there is the scroll for the Hiraishin and one of my kunai for it with the seal inscribed into it. I want you to teach it to him when the time is right. I trust you, Sensei, Uncle Hayato. Please...take care of my son." Minato asked of them as he and the other two ex-Kage's faded away.

In the forest near the borders of the village, the Sand Siblings were beating a hasty retreat until they felt Naruto catching up to them and Kankuro stopped suddenly. He stopped to stall their pursuers long enough for her to escape with Gaara. Just after she took off again, Naruto caught up with the puppet user and a fight ensued. Only a moment later, Renka, Raichi, and Hinata arrived and took over, with Hinata staying behind to fight him.

"What's a timid little thing like you gonna do to stop me?" Kankuro taunted. He remebered her from the prelims as a scared and meek little girl. However, the fierce glare on her face was neither meek of timid. She was going to introduce him to a world of hurt...and enjoy every minute of it.

Striking out before he lost his nerve, Kankuro lashed out with Karasu, his puppet with poisoned blades. He wasn't totally stupid. He saw the kinds of damage a Hyuuga could inflict if let close enough, so he would just keep her at bay until she either wore out or the poison took her down.

Unfortunately, Hinata had an idea. Since the Jyuuken required the hands to be encased in a thin shroud of chakra anyway, she could cut the chakra strings Kankuro was using to manipulate his puppet and render him defenseless. She remembered how a man from Suna, a puppeteer, was moving little puppets in a small show when she was a small child and knew that this was how Kankuro was doing it, too.

Acting quickly, she dodged and let Karasu sail over her and inone clean swipe, she severed teh string controlling Karasu and the puppet fell silent. Not wasting any words, she lept in as fast as her still recovering body would allow and disabled Kankuro, tying him up and leaving him in a safe place for retrieval later as she took off to rejoin the boy she loved.

With Temari, she felt Gaara's demon beginning to awaken, so she seperated herself from him. It was then that Naruto caught up with her, but this time, before she could fight, Renka intervened. She told Naruto and Raichi to keep going and take down Gaara before something bad happened.

Temari gauged the girl before her carefully. Temari knew that she herself was pretty goo, but was also smart enough to not underestimate an opponent. She had never seen this girl fight and to dismiss her would be a mistake, she was sure of it. Unfurling her fan, she shot out a blast of wind but she had to be careful. She expended a good portion of her reserves during her match and she would soon run out. All she could do was buy some time at this point.

Renka dodged form branch to branch with cat-like grace, easily avoiding the wind blasts as she gor closer and closer to her target. Finally within striking range, Temari tried to swing at the dark haired girl with her fan, hoping for a lucky hit, but she couldn't have missed by a bigger margin. Renka was already behind her and placed both palms to her back.

"Time to say goodnight." Renka whispered.

_**TANPA!**_

The twin palmed blow launched the pony tailed Suna kunoichi at least a dozen yards through the air until she hit the forest floor. As Renka scooped her up and placed her in a place where she could be retrieved later, she realized that she didn't have any gear or supplies on her. She decided that after a blow like that, she wasn't going anywhere for a while. Her job taken care of, she sped off in the direction Naruto and Raichi chased that demented red headed boy.

Behind them, Sasuke had found Hinata and Renka fighting their opponents, but offered no aid to them. He simply waited for them to lead him to where Naruto and Gaara was, intent on proving who is the strongest and see what he could copy from either one of them before one of them died, like a vulture circling overhead.

Shigure, being much faster and stronger than the Genin, had caught up rather quickly, but was waylaid by a squad of Oto and Suna nin that were combing the forests for easy kills. The first Oto nin spoke out, leering at her choice of clothing.

"Hey guys...why don't we forget this stupid fighting and have ourselves a little victory party right here?" He leered at Shigure, her rather eye-catching ensemble consisting of black thigh-highs and a very short kimono. However, they failed to see that she was armed, or even who she was.

"Get out...of my way." She warned them, drawing her blade.

The shinobi all laughed as they continued what they were doing, all but ensuring their visit by the Angel of Death. The first shinobi that spoke out got his hand lopped off in an eye blink as he grabbed at her.

"EEEYYAAAAGGGHHHH!" He screamed as he clutched the cleanly sliced stump of what used to be his left hand.

"You BITCH!" One of the Suna shinobi cried as they all lept in to take her down.

The fight began and ended in less than a couple of seconds. In the span of an eyeblink, three of their number were cut down by the blade that was forged especially for her by her adoptive father, the Akabanetou, or Red Feather, for how it could slice the very air. The rest came in quick succession until they all lay dead at her feet. She had no time to reflect, though.

_'I have to find Naruto-kun!'_ She thought as she lept off to find him and the girls again.

Back with Naruto and Raichi, they had finally caught up to Gaara who's tranformation was nearly completed. He now looked like a miniature Shukaku, grotesquely deformed and grinning like a psychopath.

_**"Blood...I WANT BLOOD!"**_ The Tanuki screeched as it launched a small barrage of sand projectiles at them.

Naurto saw the sand bullets first and took the first shot meant for Raichi right in the chest.

"Oh Kami...Naruto!" She screamed as she pulled him behind a tree to check the wound. To her surprize, there was only a hole where the bullet penetrated his top, but the chainmail vest Shigure gave him saved his life.

"I'm fine, Raichi-chan." He assured her as they continued to dodge the hailstorm of sand schrapnel as it shredded the trees hiding them. Gaara was getting tired of them hiding from him until he saw Renka and Hinata pelting at him. He then gave a sickening smirk as he thought of a way to draw them out.

While the two were in mid leap, he launched a pair of sand claws at them pinning them to the trees and knocking the wind from them.

"NO!" Raichi yelled as she tore off to help her two friends get free, leaving herself vulnerable in the process.

"_**Foolish!"**_ Shukaku-Gaara cackled as he fired off another sand claw, this time pinning Raichi to a tree next to her fellow brides.

Naruto looked on in horror, the three girls who had captured his heart and earned his affections were just a breath away from death. Slowly, that fear turned into rage, a burning rage that threatened to consume him.

_**"UZUMAKI! FACE ME! SHOW ME THAT YOU ARE WORTH KILLING OR THESE WENCHES DIE BEFORE I KILL YOU!"**_ The now demonic Gaara roared as his sand claws wrenched tighter around the girls, making them cry out in pain.

Naruto snapped. Ever since the fight with Haku, he'd hadn't been so angry. He came out to face down the insane jinchuuriki.

"Let's do this. I'll make you pay for this." Naruto snarled prepping himself to attack.

_**"Eh? What makes these three whores so valuable to you that you would risk yourself for them?" **_He taunted.

"BECAUSE I LOVE THEM, YOU SICK BASTARD! THEY SHOWED ME WHAT LOVE REALLY IS AND I'LL KILL YOU TO PROTECT THEM IF I HAVE TO!" Naruto roared back, weaving through handseals as fast as he could.

_**SUITON : SUIRYUUDAN!**_

A water dragon roared to life and slammed into the sand demon with crushing force, throwing him back some twenty feet and into a rather thick tree, where his sand caught him. Unfortunately, Gaara was only spurred on even more.

_**"Yes...YES! ENTERTAIN ME MORE, UZUMAKI!"**_ He roared as began to grow in size at an alarming rate. Soon he tower above the forest canopy. Now, Gaara truly had become the demon he contained.

As the giant sand tanuki loomed above the forest, Naruto cursed. "Damn...I don't know if I have the chakra to do this, but I have to try!" He yelled as he bit his thumb for the blood he needs to summon, smearing it on his summoning hand and flipping through the handseals, ending with slamming his hand down.

_'Come on, Boss. I need you!'_ Naruto thought frantically.

_**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**_

A towering explosion of smoke erupted from where Naruto once stood, now replaced by a massive toad that equalled Shukaku in size.

"_**Oi, brat! Where the hell am I?" **_Gamabunta yelled, looking for either of his clan's summoners.

"Yo, boss! Up here!" Naruto yelled from on top of his head, explaining the situation to the Chief of the Toads.

Hidden some distance away, Sasuke was boiling over with rage and jealousy at the feat Naruto had performed. He had heard of summons and it was how the Sannin got their name. He also knew about the toad summons being the summon of the Toad Sage, Jiraiya. If Naruto was able to summon toads, then the dobe must have been trained by the Toad Sennin himself! This new information was driving the raven haired avenger wannabe insane with jealousy.

The girls were amazed. They had all heard stories about the summons of Konoha, but seeing one of the in real life before them was a real treat. The kicker that topped even that was that Gamabunta was summoned by none other than Naruto.

_**"So, gaki...you want me to help you save your girlfriends, right?" **_The massive toad teased the blushing boy.

"Er...Yeah! Now let's kick that bastard squirrel's ass!" Naruto yelled.

_**"Okay gaki! Hold on tight...This rides going to get a little rough."**_ Bunta called out, drawing his dagger while Naruto braced himself.

Gaara was growing impatient and decided to get the ball rolling.

_**FUUTON : RENKUUDAN!**_

Gaara concentraited some wind in his demon form's belly and let it fly by punching itself in the gut.

Bunta saw the blasts bearing down on them so he took to the air. As he did so, Gaara fired off another round of blasts.

_**"Damn! He's tough..."**_ Bunta grimaced, putting his webbed forefeet into the Ram seal.

_**SUITON : TEPPOUDAMA!**_

Bunta fired off water blasts to intercept the wind, but he was one short.

"Boss! Watch out!" Naruto called out as he flipped through seals of his own.

_**SUITON : SUIRYUUDAN!**_

Now, one couldn't POSSIBLY expect this to cancel out a massive wind blast fired from Bijuu, but it did buy Bunta the time he needed to draw his blade and parry the massive bullet.

_**"WHAT?"**_ Gaara yelled in shock that somebody managed to survive his assualt.

As Bunta decsended form his jump, he also sliced into the arm of the demon, but had trouble following through with his strike. His Tanto dagger was wedged into the sandy arm and the demon wasn't letting go. After a short tugging match, Bunta managed to tug free and take the arm with it.

The demon just looked at the arm and scoffed like it didn't even bother him. He just grew it right back.

_**"That's it...I'LL KILL YOU!"**_ Gaara screamed.

_**TANUKI NEIRI NO JUTSU**_

_**"ERRAHHH! I'M FREE! TIME FOR YOU TO DIE, DIE, DIE!"**_ The now fully released Shukaku cackled with murderous glee.

Naruto was confused by this jutsu, but Bunta knew what it meant.

_**"Uh oh..."**_ Bunta muttered.

"What's up, boss?" Naruto asked.

_**"That kid's like you, a demon vessel. From what I can tell, if the boy sleeps, the demon has full control and full power! We need to wake him up again!"**_ Gamabunta told him, already thinking of ways to get his summoner in close enough to do the job.

_**"Hey, kid...know any fire jutsu?"**_ He asked.

"Uh, no. Why?"

_**"Damn...there goes the Gamayu Endan."**_ He sighed, explaining the method of the Gamayu Endan to him.

"So all you need is fire? I got an explosive tag for that!" Naruto told him with a smirk.

_**"Good thinking, kid! Let's do this!"**_ Bunta roared, puffing up with the extremely flammable Toad Oil.

_**KATON : GAMAYU ENDAN!**_

The massive stream of oil met the explosion caused by the tag, igniting the oil and creating a hellish tongue of flames that Shukaku caught full blast. Bunta and Naruto were careful to aim it away from where the girls and the village was. After the flames died down, Shukaku was encased in a shell of super heated sand that had turned to glass, rendering him immobile.

_**"Gaki! Here's your chance!"**_ Bunta hollered, getting Naruto within striking distance.

Naruto ran down Bunta's nose and lept from there, landing on the slick surface of Shukaku's face before Gaara's sleeping form.

"TIME TO WAKE THE HELL UP!" The blond roared as he reared back.

_**MUBYOSHI!**_

The blow broke right through the glass shell that was protecting Gaara, hitting him with impressive force and waking him from his forced sleep.

Gamabunta, who was completely out of chakra, only had time for one thought as he went back to teh Toad domain.

_**'That kid has a lot of his father in him...He'll become even greater.'**_ The old toad though with a sad smile as he left the battlefield.

_**"NO! YOU BASTARDS! I WANTED TO PLAY SOME MORE!"**_ The giant Tanuki whined as it shattered like a massive pane of glass, dumping both demon vessels into the forest floor below.

Temari, who had regained consciousness, had followed the fighting Along the way, she found Kankuro and set him free. They were in awe that someone had managed to match her brother blow for blow, and a Genin at that! The two lept down near the two exhausted fighters, waiting for their chance to jump in and get Gaara to safety.

Gaara panted from where he lay, battered and unable to move while Naruto, not really in much better shape, stood over him.

"Why...Why are you...so strong?" Gaara asked.

"Because...Those girls, my friends, my masters and family...they mean everything to me. I'll give everything to protect them." Naruto told him solemnly.

Gaara looked into his opponent's eyes, seeing pain and loneliness in them, but even more so than that, understanding.

"You have...something like me?" Gaara asked, to which Naruto nodded.

"Yeah...I have the Kyuubi inside of me." Naruto confirmed.

"I see...I have much to think about. Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara thanked him in a tired voice. It was then that Temari and Kankuro jumped out and hoisted Gaara up, Naruto allowing them to. After a quick nod of thanks from the two siblings, they jumped off, bound for the Wind Country border. As Naruto watched them leave, he felt a blow hit him from behind and his world went black.

The sand around the girls had dissolved and let them go when Shukaku's power was broken. They immeadiately rushed to Naruto's side, but they were beaten there by Sasuke, who was smirking nastily while standing over Naruto, lightning crackling in his hand as he prepared to strike.

The three girls were enraged at what the last Uchiha had the nerve to do, Raichi kicking him away into a tree, knocking him unconscious while Hinata and Renka started to tend to Naruto's wounds. Unfortunately, the wrong person saw them fight off Sasuke, Kakashi. He rushed into the middle of the fight and took Sasuke's side.

"I hope you girls know that attacking a fellow Leaf shinobi during a time of war is treason." He told them dangerously.

"He attacked Naruto first! He was going to kill him!" Hinata yelled angrily.

"I saw nothing of the sort. Now, come along before I use force." He ordered them.

He didn't even make it two steps toward them as another blur intercepted him. It was a woman with long dark hair in a pony tail, a dangerously short kimono and thigh highs. Kakashi knew who she was instantly from his ANBU days.

"Kousaka Shigure..." He said, his eyes narrowed.

"Hatake...I saw what...happened here. The Uchiha...attacked Uzumaki while he...was weakened from his fight with Suna's...weapon." She toldhim in her usual fashion, a stoney look on her face. She never liked Kakashi, as she found him to be rather arrogant due to his implanted Sharingan eye. He once challanged her for leadership of the ANBU team she led, but he was soundly beaten and she did it without even breaking a sweat. He had been especially wary of her ever since.

However, he had grown cocky again from being praised as Sasuke's sensei. "I don't think I believe you. In fact, I think it was Sasuke that defeated Gaara, Naruto just getting in the way. It really doesn't matter what happened. Once I tell the council my story, yours will just be a lie." He sneered, picking up his prized Uchiha and leaping away.

Shigure didn't like where this was heading. She turned to Naruto and picked him up. "You girls...Follow me and...stay close." She ordered.

The woman was extremely fordmidable and following her orders seemed to be the logical thing to do, so the followed without question.

_A/N: Hey there, y'all! Another thrilling installment of HSD Naruto is up in the place and in yo face! Chuunin Exams, y'all! Neji got his ass kicked and Sasuke got schooled! Gaara just got his giant, Tanuki/Squirrel ass handed to him by the Naru/Gama dynamic duo! Our blondie is an ass kicking machine that would make the Almighty Chuck Norris proud! Orochimaru turned tail and ran like John Wayne Bobbit AFTER his dick got shanked! Chuck Norris, Mr. T, AND the Dude form the Big Lebowski have whipped out their note pads and are scribbling down notes furiously!_

_This one took me a while to pump out, since I've been busy as of late. The fighter squadron I'm stationed at just got de-commissioned and we all got absorbed into another command, so we've been really busy. Sorry 'bout that! I'll try to make my next updates a little quicker, but I'm also getting out of the Navy soon, in a few months and that'll end a 10 year career, so I'll be looking for a job._


	6. Chapter 6

_ Hey y'all! Another chapter up and online! The invasion is now over and Konoha has come through relatively unharmed thanks to the awesome masters and their new student, one Naruto Uzumaki. Now, we see the what came about after Kakashi ran off and tried to pull a fast one, as well as the results of their betrayal. No one fucks with the Ryozanpaku and their allies and gets away with it!_

_**BACK IN THE VILLAGE**_

Sound and Sand were in full retreat and leaving the village in droves, nearly toppling over each other to do it.

"Monsters!"

"Beasts! They're beasts! Run!"

"What ARE they? Demons?"

Apachai was indignant at being referred to as something evil.

"Apa! Apachai's not evil!" The massive Muay Thai master fumed as his opponents ran off in abject horror.

"Well, Apachai-kun...It seems that they were all talk." Akisame commented idly as he turned back to working on another injured shinobi.

Kensei, Sakaki, and Miu were with the other sensei back at the stadium, watching as the Sand/Sound Coalition broke down and fled from the stadium. Sakaki just shook his head in disgust.

"Bah...They were hardly even worth fighting. What a bunch of lightweights. The Gaki put up twice the fight these wimps did in our spars." He commented with disappointment.

"Aya...I agree. These youths were quite...lacking in terms of skill. They strike me to be cannon fodder, mere amatuers meant to divert our attention." Kensei added.

"I quite agree with you Ma-sifu. These shinobi that we fought were little better than Genin in terms of skill and ability. I share your notion that they were merely a diversion." Gai agreed respectfully.

Miu, however, was worried more about her newly found family member and his fiancees, how they handled the Suna Genin. She did not want to say goodbye to them so soon, not if she had anything to do with it. She may not be a shinobi, but she was a powerful as an A-Rank shinobi at her best. It would take a lot to stand in her way.

On the roof of Kikyo Tower, Sarutobi, Hayato and the two Sannin were getting their wits about them and assessing what needed to be done and to go look for Naruto.

"I need to go and look for him, Jiraiya. I'm worried..." Tsunade told her teammate.

"I understand, Hime. Just let me go with you. I'm his Godfather, after all." Jiraiya agreed as teh two of them lept off, leaving their sensei and Hayato to talk seriously about what Minato had requested of them.

"Will you honor what Minato asked of us, Saru?" Hayato asked his old friend.

"Yes...I will. Telling Naruto that his father came back to life only to die again moments later is just too cruel. I cannot bring myself to do tell him." The old Hokage lamented before Hayato changed the subject.

"So...What's your opinion on how the boy did? He fought three battles back to back, winning two of them and Kami willing, the third." Hayato requested.

"The boy has shown miraculous growth under the care of the masters and yourself. You undid all of the damage Kakashi and the rest had done to him, minus Iruka. Iruka tried everything humanly possible to help the boy, but there was only so much he could do. I have every confidence that he has earned a promotion. The council cannot refute what everyone in the village and all of these important diplomats have seen." Sarutobi reasoned.

Hayato nodded and changed the subject. "Now, maybe we should go into the village and make sure things are alright? I shall go and look for my associates while you tend to things." With that, the two mighty geezers parted, one in a flurry of leaves and the other in a burst of pure speed.

_**NEAR THE KONOHA BORDER**_

Raichi, Renka, and Hinata were having a rough time trying to keep up the brutal pace that Shigure was setting. The fact that amazed them even more was that she was carrying Naruto with her without even slowing the slightest bit. They did, however, know WHY they had to rush back to the village. They had to beat Kakashi back to the village and stop him from giving the Uchiha all of the credit for defeating Gaara as well as pinning them with false assault charges. Kami only knows what he'll get the council to do if they get there first.

Before they knew it, they had fallen far behind the seasoned kunoichi, whose pace could be likened to a ball out of Hell. They thought that they would get attacked any moment now, but all of the enemy shinobi they had seen were all fleeing as if the Devil himself were nipping at their heels. They didn't bother wondering what was going on. As long as they weren't bothering them, this was a good thing in their opinion, they thought collectively as they cranked up the speed.

Jiraiya and Tsunade flickered into the forest just to run into Kakashi, who was carrying his Uchiha pain in the ass in his arms.

"Kakashi? What the hell are YOU doing here? You were supposed to be helping out at the stadium!" Tsunade demanded of him, her honey-colored eyes narrowed with suspicion. Naruto and the girls had taken off in that direction after the Suna Genin and Gaara.

"I, uh...just went to retrieve Sasuke. He fought and defeated the Suna Genin AND Gaara by himself!" He lied to them enthusiastically.

Kakashi was a pretty good liar, but not good enough to fool two of the three Sannin, especially Jiraiya, the greatest spymaster Konoha had ever produced. He could spot a liar while in a drunken stupor without any difficulty.

"Oh really?" Jiraiya questioned, his voice laden with skepticism and suspicion. He already knew Kakashi was lying, he just needed to figure out what happened. Tsunade caught on to what her longtime teammate was implying and pressed on the one eyed bastard.

"Is that so, Hatake? Then you wouldn't mind if I took your pulse while I asked you a few questions?" Tsunade requested, the look on her face saying that refusal wouldn't be tolerated. Fortunately, Kakashi had no idea that she was in fact Naruto's Godmother and, Kami willing, his legal guardian and mother.

Kakashi was arrogant enough to believe that he would fool Tsunade and agreed, thinking that they would backup his claims should they buy it.

"So...What were you and the Uchiha brat doing here, Hatake? Where are Naruto Uzumaki and the three genin we sent in to stop the Suna genin?" She asked.

"Oh. They fled back to the village and Sasuke here valiantly defeated Gaara and his teammates. When he was getting ready to head back to the village, though, Naruto and his three accomplices attacked Sasuke, but I barely managed to rescue him from their jealous attack." Kakashi told them, grinning smugly under his mask. He thought that his training as an ANBU would be able to fool Tsunade.

_**WRONG!**_

Their suspicions were confirmed, as Kakashi's pulse was dancing around like a Soul Train dancer thats been hit with a 100,000 volt taser. Tsunade and Jiraiya smirked at each other before rounding on the guilty Jounin.

"Oh, Kakashi...What would Minato say if he saw you now? Or better yet, Obito or Rin?" Jiraiya shook his head.

Kakashi was now starting to sweat. "Wha...what do you mean, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, _**boy.**_ I'm not known for my medical expertise for nothing. You were lying to us." Tsunade snarled as she jerked Kakashi up by his vest and to her face.

"Now...You WILL tell us the truth and should you lie to us again, the consequences will not be pleasant." The beautiful Sannin threatened.

After both Sannin pressed him for answers, he finally cracked and spilled everything...the whole truth of what he was up to and how he tried to cover up Sasuke's misconduct. He was lucky that he needed to be brought in alive or the pair would have killed him on the spot for attempted treason and sabotage. The two Sannin surrounded him immeadiately, taking him into custody.

"Hatake Kakashi, you will be coming with us. If you try to run away, you will be killed on sight." Jiraiya told him with authority.

"On who's authority?" Was Kakashi's smartass reply.

"You fool...Do you even realise just who you're talking to? We are called the Sannin for a reason. We operate with the blessings of the Hokage, acting on his behalf. Just be glad he isn't here himself, brat." Tsunade snapped at him, effectively shutting his mouth, before she turned to her old teammate.

"Jiraiya...I'm going to look for Naruto and the girls. Take this trash back to sensei." She informed him as she took off deeper into the forest. Jiraiya just sighed as he made a Kage Bunshin to help him escort Kakashi back to the village.

"Let's go, Hatake. And if you try to escape, I'll cut you down. See if I don't." The Toad Sage glowered at him as they got going.

In another part of the forest, the girls were trying to catch their breath as Hinata picked up a massive chakra signature heading right for them. It spooked her into actvating her Byakugan to scan the target. Before she could tell the others, the signature revealed itself to be none other than Tsunade, who landed right in front of them.

"Where's Naruto?" She asked them.

"Shigure-san took off with him to beat Hatake back to the village. She felt that if he beat her there, he would spread that the Uchiha beat Gaara and that Naruto-kun was a traitor." Raichi explained.

To their suprize, Tsunade smirked. "Don't worry your pretty little heads about that. The old Pervert and I intercepted him near the village and grilled him. He fessed up with a little...persuation, and now Jiraiya is escorting him back to a holding cell, pending charges of misconduct. The Uchiha will face similar charges for his blatant attack on Naruto after he defeated the Suna Jinchuuriki." The Slug Queen answered them.

"What about Naruto-kun? Did he and Shigure-san make it?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. They made it to Hokage Tower safely. Now, follow me. I'll get you girls back to the village. No sane ninja would mess with you if I'm with you." The last Senju told them as she handed them each a soldier pill. They knew this to be true from what they learned about her in history and from what they've seen for themselves. She was a force to be reckoned with and just the mere mention of her super-strength made a couple of the Ryouzanpaku masters cringe. The girls all followed after the legendary kunoichi as she tried to keep a slow enough pace for them to follow.

_**BACK IN THE VILLAGE...**_

Shigure had already informed the Hokage of Naruto's victory and of the treachery of Kakashi and Sasuke. The old man was torn between pride for Naruto and his selfless courage, and disgust for what remained of Team 7. The remainder of Team 7 was a mockery of what a Konona ninja really was, with an arrogant brat, a brain-dead fangirl, and a biased sensei. Kakashi wasn't going to escape punishment this time.

"Take Naruto-kun to the hospital to treat his wounds and fatigue and get yourself looked at as well, Shigure-chan." The Elderly Hokage told her with a grandfatherly smile, sending her on her way as she nodded and took off.

_'Kakashi...Minato and Kushina would rip you apart if they were alive and saw what you have done to their child. There are special places in Hell for people like you.'_

Once she arrived there, she ran into Akisame and Apachai, who had protected it during the fighting. Akisame asked what had happened to his young student and after he was told, he was filled with pride. _'I knew he could do it. He just needed to believe that he could.'_

"Apa! Naruto-chan's alright!" Apachai cheered. He was very fond of Naruto and it just wouldn't do for his student and playmate to get hurt.

"Of course he is, Apachai-kun. I must be getting back to my rounds now." Akisame replied as he got back to work. However, he was worried about Kakashi's conduct and what he would have done and gotten away with had Shigure not shown up.

_'Hatake will bear watching, as will the Uchiha and the Haruno. There is something about them that makes me ill at ease.'_ The mustachioed man thought as he returned to his work.

It was an hour later that Hayato had everyone, including a now conscious Naruto, the girls, and the two Sannin, gathered in the Hokage's Office, which was still in one piece miraculously, to explain what had happened with them during the invasion. Sarutobi knew he could count on his old friend and his fellow masters to come through in a pinch, but the masters had proven to be ludicrisly effective. Akisame had prevented a good number of deaths and crippling injuries while Apachai protected the hospital and the streets around it. Kensei, Sakaki, Gai, and Miu prevented any innocent deaths at the stadium where Kakashi had abandoned his post. Finally, Naruto and the girls stopped the Sand Siblings and Naruto himself stopped Gaara's rampage. After they were done, he dismissed them for the day to get some rest.

He was so proud of all of them, he really was. Gai, Hinata, Raichi, and Naruto were to recieve a commendation for valor along with two other Chuunin who had distinguished themselves in the line of duty, Ikki Takeda and Nanjo Kisara, in a ceremony that was to take place in the next three days. They were also going to announce the results of the Chuunin Exams, who made it and who didn't.

After they had gotten through debriefing Sarutobi, he called for Kakashi to be brought in to explain himself, as well as Sasuke and Sakura for their own actions before and during the invasion. As expected, Sasuke was completely unrepentent. He believed that he was wronged first by being disqualified and his chance for advancement given to Naruto. He arrogantly thought that since he was an Uchiha, everyone should be bending over backwards to cater to his whims.

"So...You think that you, a GENIN, is above his superiors? I have news for you, BOY. Your name will not get you anywhere in this room. We are all people who have earned our strength and reputations through hard work, not by having everyone just give things to us. Tsunade's grandfather and greatuncle were both Hokages, but she made a name for herself completely on her own. She refused special treatment and worked hard to become the woman she is now. I had no clan to claim, no special Bloodline to help me, but here I am now, the one who trained the legendary Yondaime to be who he was. Even the Sandaime Hokage had no bloodline or clan and he rose to become who he is today with hard work. Don't talk to US about privilege or prestige. Don't you DARE talk to us about tragedy and hardship. As of now, due to your own actions before and during the invasion, your shinobi license has been suspended for a period of six months. During which time, if you practice ANY of the shinobi arts or engage any sort of training, you will have you chakra sealed and will be imprisoned on the charges of disobeying a direct order from your superiors, attempted murder of a fellow Konoha-nin, and false accusations. You have been warned." Jiraiya dictated before the shinobi tribunal which was made up of only the Shinobi clan heads, the Sandaime's advisors, and the ANBU Commander.

It was they who would decide a shinobi's fate when they broke the law and this was especially severe. These charges were accrued during a time of war and he could have gotten the death sentence had the Advisors not protested to give him a second chance. The clan heads were pushing for imprisonment and Hiashi was pushing for death. The Uchiha put his own daughter at risk with his reckless actions and he refused to let it go unpunished.

Sakura was also unrepentent, believeing that Naruto should have just given his slot to Sasuke and kept his mouth shut. One glare from Tsunade made her wet herself as she tried to make herself invisible out of sheer fright. However, it was Tsume Inuzuka that opened up with a verbal barrage. She took fangirls as a personal insult and she was quite fond of Naruto. She saw a lot of her younger self in the scrappy young blond, as well as much of a dear friend of hers, and this little brat was the one who kept grinding her heel into him.

"Such a spineless weakling...You fangirls are a menace. A plague to all serious kunoichi like Tsunade-sama and myself! The Uzumaki boy EARNED his spot in the finals while the Uchiha thought that he was beyond reproach. Then, you saw fit to talk down to the HOKAGE, your LEADER of all people! All for the sake of some insignificant crush? How dare you, you ignorant little girl?" Tsume fumed.

"Look at you... a pathetic excuse for a kunoichi. Fangirls really are a dispicable breed, shunning all else, even common sense, just so their crush with look at them. You even tried to threaten the HOKAGE and you were lucky to come away alive! Either Jiraiya or myself could have killed you at anytime, never mind the ANBU. We ill need pathetic creatures such as you polluting our ranks. If I ever hear of ANYTHING like this again, I will expect you to turn in your headband and have your chakra sealed, what little that you have. Now get out of my sight! Just the sight of you disgusts me!" Tsunade tore into the pink haired girl. She honestly needed this if she were to make ANYTHING of herself.

Kakashi...was a mess of contradictions and excuses. He truly believed that he was doing the right thing in stunting Naruto's growth and throwing everything else away to teach Sasuke. He used the excuse that Obito would have wanted him to teach Sasuke. Jiraiya just couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough with your excuses, Hatake! You are a Jounin sensei and a sensei does NOT sacrifice his other students for a personal preference! Minato would be so ashamed of you, as would Obito and Rin. You have become a pathetic mockery of what a shinobi really is. I don't need you mucking up the boy's life any further than you already have. Naruto is hearby removed from Team 7 and you are now under watch, pending a full investigation into your teaching methods. Should your performace be found unsatisfactory, you will never be allowed to take a Genin team again nor will you take any apprentices. If you violate these orders, you will be removed from service and your Sharingan with be removed, your chakra sealed and all jutsu erased from your mind. Now leave. I'm sick of looking at you." Jiraiya finished, ordering Kakashi to leave and don't come back.

Sarutobi was impressed with Jiraiya's outburst. He dealt the well deserved punishment with a firm hand.

_'I believe I found my successor. I'm so proud of how far you've come, Jiraiya.'_ The old Hokage thought.

"Jiraiya, as you know, I am getting too old for this job. I had already retired once, but I need to hand off the robes for good this time. I believe that you are the best person for the job." The old Sandaime confided in his two students.

Jiraiya was stunned. He always believed that he would be the TRAINER of Hokage's, not an actually Hokage himself." S-Sensei? Are you sure? I mean...I'm not exactly the best person for the job. I was always the dead last. Orochimaru and Tsunade both made Jounin before I made Chuunin and I was never good enough. So why now?" He asked, in total disbelief.

Tsunade knew what he was talking about. When they were younger, she and Orochimaru tormented him with their Jounin vests while he was still a genin. she thought back to the hurt look on his face and she nearly teared up. She had to admit now, more than ever, he was truly deserving of what had been presented to him. He was always told that he wasn't good enough and passed over. He had to watch as his student literally commited suicide to stop the Kyuubi and was forced to watch while his Godson was abused, but couldn't do anything to stop it without putting him in mortal danger.

Sarutobi was really kicking himself for his part in Jiraiya's plight. It was one of the things that drove him to perversion and debauchery, to write his famous (_**or infamous...depending on your gender and/or preference**_) Icha Icha Series and appear to be a drunken, lecherous fool. Underneath, was a lethal, competent shinobi and master spy. He was the one who trained Minato to be the legend that he became and his next student would more than likely become Hokage. He was more worthy of becoming Hokage than anyone else right now. He had proven his worth through his loyalty time and time again.

"Jiraiya...For what it's worth, I'm sorry for how I was when we were younger...I had no right to tease you and treat you like I did. I was no better than that little Haruno tramp at times over Orochimaru. I know that this is pretty late coming, but I truly am sorry." Tsunade apologizing to her old teammate and most trusted friend.

Jiraiya had already forgiven her. He forgave her years ago, but an apology was always welcome. From Tsunade, apologies were few and far between, so he knew that this was as genuine as it could get.

"It's...Okay, Hime. I forgave you years ago. It's in the past, so just let it go." He told her gently as she hugged him.

"Congradulations, you big pervert." She told him.

"Could've done without the pervert part, but I'll take what I can get." Jiraiya sighed as he chuckled.

"Jiraiya, I'll announce you as my successor tomorrow after the promotions and commendations are awarded. You will be the Godaime Hokage." Sarutobi told him seriously as he bade them goodnight.

"Jiraiya...You have truly grown from the irresponsible boy I knew long ago. I know that Naruto's future is in good hands and in the schemeing council's. He will have the life that was denied to him for so long and fulfill his destiny to become a wise and powerful Hokage in his own right with you, Tsunade, Hayato, and the masters to guide him along the path and the girls to support him." Sarutobi said aloud in his office as he turned in for the night.

_**THREE DAYS LATER - STAGE IN FRONT OF HOKAGE TOWER**_

The rise of the sun three days later saw almost all of the villagers in front of Hokage tower, as the Hokage had an announcement to make and the rumors of a new Hokage were running rampant. There wasn't much to do, mainly due to the fact that the Ryozanpaku masters had kept damage within the village and losses to a bare minimum so there were few repairs to be done. There was also the rumor that the results of the Chuunin Exams were to be announced. Many of the villagers were actually hoping that the council had promoted the Uchiha and threw out Naruto's matches. On the contrary, many shinobi were hoping Naruto got promoted, due to the fact that he earned it by fighting three times in a row and winning each one with superior tactics and skill. In addition to that, they had heard that it was Naruto that stopped Suna's Jinchuuriki whem he raged out of control.

Finally, the Hokage himself, flanked by his two loyal students, the Sannin, had arrived in the stage in a plume of smoke. He scanned the crowd of civilians and shinobi, reading their mood as he began to speak.

"Citizens and shinobi of Konoha! I am glad to find that almost all of you are unharmed after this sudden and unprovoked attack on our village. We have our brave shinobi to thank for this boon, however..." He paused for dramatic effect.

"We have some very special individuals to thank for our safety. I would like them to come up to the stage now so that their valor may be recognised." He paused again, preparing to read off the names until someone shouted out.

"I hope Sasuke-kun gets promoted!" A recently released Sakura Haruno screeched to the embarrassment of her mortified parents, garnering an annoyed groan from some of the shinobi who were tired of always hearing about how great that Uchiha kid was.

Sakura's folks were greatly embarrassed by the shameful actions of their daughter when they had to go to the ANBU lock up and bail her out. They really tried to do everything in their power to curb her slave-like devotion to the last Uchiha, but she was already too far along and her psyche too twisted to fix without some massive psycho-therapy from the Yamanaka Clan. However, since Sakura and Ino have been at odds and Sakura has been so nasty to Inoichi's daughter, they feared that the help she needs may be beyond her.

Her parents just could not figure out the attraction. He was just one kid and pretty average as far as the Uchiha went, not to mention that the Uzumaki kid had a harder time with Neji Hyuuga and the Suna kid than the vaunted Uchiha. He couldn't be all that great Naruto smacked him around like he did. But to Naruto's credit, he had improved by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time and mastered two incredibly difficult jutsu. If he earned the trust of the Toads, like the Yondaime did, that was enough to tell them that he was truly something special because the Toads wouldn't trust just anyone to summon them in combat. Then there was the tantrum that Sasuke threw down in the arena and the fact that he was willing to kill his own teammate in an exam match.

Sarutobi looked annoyed at who was shouting, but continued on with his speech.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted...I would like these people to stand up here with me and be recognised. Maito Gai, Hyuuga Hinata, Li Raichi, Uzumaki Naruto, Ma Renka, Fuurinji Miu, Nanjou Kisara, and Takeda Ikki! You have all served Konoha with distinction in it's hour of need. We need heroes such as yourselves to continue to serve our village with exemplary honor and courage, that you have displayed. For your selfless courage in the face of extreme danger, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, present you all with the Medal of Valor with recommendations from the Fire Daimyo and blessings and gratitude from several other dignitaries. You make us all proud." The old man beamed with pride as he personally pinned each of the recipients.

Kurenai looked on with tear filled eyes. The shy little girl she first met had earned one of the most prestigious awards that could be bestowed upon a shinobi. She had truly matured and from what she had heard as of late, she was engaged to marry the boy she has had a crush on since she was just a little girl and he seems to feel the same way about her.

Hiashi was just as proud of his daughter. She had brought a great honor to the Hyuuga clan being the first Hyuuga to recieve this token of Valor and Honor from not only the Daimyo, but other dignitaries and rulers. He was also proud of Naruto for showing devotion to his daughter. Not for the first time, he thanked Kami and the stars above that this was the boy who was to marry his eldest daughter, not to mention a certain Yellow Flash and Red Death for concieving said blessing.

Kensei and Tenmon were both equally proud of their daughters and the fordmidable team they proved to be teamed up with their fellow bride and the groom-to-be. It was further proof that their decision to honor the marriage pact was one of the best ideas they had in their lives.

Kisara and Takeda both smirked as they bumped fists. The two made an awesome team, had been since their Genin days. They only wished that Ukita could be there with them to witness this day and cursed the traitor, Taichi Koga, that damned him to his death. They were, however, glad that they made him pay for his crimes by bringing him to Ibiki Morino for interrogation. From there, he fessed up to being in league with another, unfriendly power in exchange for money and influence once he defected. Now, he was merely locked away within his own mind turned into a world of pain thanks to someone even the Boogieman checks under the bed for before he goes to sleep.

The masters and Naruto's new family were all geniunely proud of him and Miu for their bravery and placing the lives of the innocent and defenseless above their own, a credo which the Ryouzanpaku was built upon. They brought honor to their way of life.

Sakura and many of Naruto's naysayers were all livid, hopping mad. He was awarded a high honor while Sasuke wasn't even mentioned. Sakura's haggered parents, unable to restrain her any longer, lose their grip as she storms up to the foot of the stage and began to verbally assault him. Thankfully, the exam proctor from before, Genma, nailed her with a well aimed senbon to the ack of her neck and knocked her out before she could disrupt this ceremony any further.

Unfortunately, she got a majority of the civilians going in a rant about how the demon was really responsible for the attack and that it should be dealt with, but they too were silenced, courtesy of one Shio Sakaki, who made them shut the hell up with one of his power glares. I was found out later on that he made a few of them faint and a couple more suffer mild heart attacks.

With these disruptions out of the way, Sarutobi got on with the ceremony.

"I also have the results of the exam in. Would Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru join Uzumaki Naruto on the stage at this time?" He asked, grinning a little at the shocked expressions on the faces of the two genin who were called out.

"Go on, Shikamaru." Shikaku urged his son into motion.

"Shino. Stand and be recognised." Shibi nudged his stunned son.

The two fathers were very proud of their sons for making Chuunin off of their first Exam. To them, it just went to show that this crop of genin had some truly talented ninja. Also all three were from the three rookie teams, shocking the other shinobi in the crowd even further. Ino was proud of Shikamaru for making Chuunin and truly impressed that Naruto made it as well.

_'How about that...The three un-cool and unpopular guys were the ones who got promoted instead of so-called geniuses. It's like a kind of justice in it's own way. Way to go, guys. I'm proud of you all.' _The pony tailed girl thought as she smiled.

Not all of the shinobi were happy for them. Kiba and Sasuke were both glowering at the three. Kiba was jealous that Shino was promoted, feeling that his position as Team 8's self-proclaimed Alpha was in peril. Now that Shino had rank on his side, any move made against him would be seen as insubordination. To add insult to injury, Naruto made it, too.

_'Damn that Dobe...Not only does he get promoted to Chuunin, he also has MY chosen female! Why him when that idiot had no clan?'_ He thought in a rage.

_'Where did that Dobe get so much power? Who gave it to him? I must have it...I need it more than some lame, clanless idiot! Can't they see that?'_ Sasuke seethed with anger.

Kakashi was also watching the proceedings with narrowed eyes. In his mind, Naruto was the catalyst that toppled his reputation among the other Jounin. The rest wouldn't even spare him a glance and his old ANBU squad was snubbing him, especially Yuugao. She had some pretty nasty words for him, amplified by the fact that Hayate was killed before the invasion and he had the nerve to trash talk her dead lover.

_'I swear...He will pay for my disgrace...They'll all pay...'_ He vowed as he watched on.

"These three Genin showed superior tactics, bravery, skill, and ability. All of these things, combined with a sense responsibility, are what is nessessary to become a Chunnin. It is with great pleasure that I promote these three to the rank of Chuunin." Sarutobi announced as he handed each of them their Chuunin Flak Vests.

"Wear them with pride, as you represent Konoha whenever you step outside of her borders." He added.

The three wore looks of shock and awe as the three gobsmacked boys _**(Yes...Even Shino can look shocked...)**_ slipped on their vests for the first time. The appluase that came form the shinobi was like rolling thunder as they were given a standing ovation for their accomplishment, a major milestone in their careers.

Sarutobi once again held up his hands to halt the appluase. He still had one more surprize in store for the crowd.

"Now...I have been the Hokage for a total of over 40 years. It is time that I turn over the position of Hokage to the one person that I trust to carry on the Will of Fire. This person has overcome so much in his life to make it to where he is today. He was once looked upon as a failure, a nobody, a joke. He was not a prodigy. He had no clan lineage to back him up, no powerful bloodline to help him along his way. He built himself up from nothing, never giving up nor did he give in. This someone is none other than..." He paused for dramatic effect. Sarutobi truly loved to grandstand with his speeches and knew how to hold a crowd's attention and fan the suspense.

_'I swear...He really loves to get on his proverbial soapbox.'_ Tsunade mused with a smirk.

Sarutobi's _'Advisors'_ were nearly biting their nails. They had failed to catch the Chuunin list in time so they could doctor it, as Sarutobi never let it out of his sight and Kakashi's story was shot down. They had no idea who Sarutobi chose to be his successor. Once they caught wind of Sarutobi wanting to retire, they wanted to install a puppet Hokage in Kakashi, but now...

"...None other than Jiraiya!" Sarutobi finished with a huge grin on his face. That grin got even wider when he saw the shocked expressions on his ex-teammates faces, as well as the enraged look on Danzo's face as the position of Hokage had once again slipped from his grasp.

Jiraiya stepped up to the old man and accepted the robes and hat from his old teacher with a calm smile but on the inside, he was fighting with everything he had to hold back his tears. He was deeply honored to accepted this position as he put on the robes of his new station. Now, he had the power to right many wrongs and better protect the godson that he was forced to neglect, the godson that had quickly become his grandson. He already had his first target in his crosshairs : The Civilian Council.

They had been responsible for so much corruption, so much needless suffering. He would start by making an example of his sensei's two old teammates. Even though since the regime has changed, they stubbornly held on to their positions, chasing away anyone else who wanted the job. They refused to relinquish the power and authority they held. Even though they were two of the people who had planned out the Uchiha massacre, they still spoil the last Uchiha remaining in the village and had become drunk with power. Jiraiya was going to really enjoy yanking that power away from them and the council, returning most governing powers back to the Hokage and the Shinobi council and returning the village back to the way it was back when the Yondaime was in power, where the privileged and so-called elite wouldn't have so much sway.

_'Like you tried to create and were betrayed for. I'll try to make your dream a reality. I know that your son will gladly continue this legacy of equality and justice once he is ready to take up the mantle.' _Jiraiya thought as he put on the vestments of his station.

As he tried to put the hat on, he found that it wouldn't quite fit over his hair. "Oh well...Minato never really wore this thing and for the same reason, too." He chuckled as the ceremony went on.

The ceremony had wound down and Naruto was sought out by two of his fellow awardees, Kisara and Takeda.

"So...a big, bad Chuunin now, eh?" Takeda greeted with a grin as he mussed Naruto's hair.

"Takeda, lay off the kid, alright? He doesn't even know who we are." Kisara admonished, but turned to him.

"Hey, kiddo. We saw your fights in the tournament and we were pretty impressed. I wouldn't mind having a spar with you, maybe the idiot here, too. I'm Nanjou Kisara, by the way." The fiesty red-head offered as she ribbed her partner.

"Easy there, Kisara-chan. Though, I wouldn't mind having a spar with our newest Chuunin, myself. I'd like to get to know who I might work with in the future and I'm Takeda Ikki. Just call me Takeda." The ashen haired young man winked good-naturedly.

Naruto was a little wierded out by these two, but could tell that they were being friendly. Besides, he really didn't mind the opportunity to expand in experience base a little wider. Also, as a Chuunin, he might wind up working with these two in the near future and it would be good to make some new friends.

"Sure! I don't mind! Come on by the dojo later today! Here's how you get there!" Naruto cheered as he handed them directions before sprinting off at a rapid clip.

"He sure is an energetic little guy and kind of a cutie, too. Hard to believe that he's the container of the Kyuubi." Kisara mused with a small grin. She felt that she could really get to like this kid. Something about what they were planning, taking him onto their Chuunin team, seemed right, like he would fit right in. Takeda could feel it, too. His cheerful attitude, combined with what they saw during his matches, made him an ideal match for them. He almost seemed like a little brother he'd like to have, if he had one.

The crowd broke up and the people all went about their business, with Jiraiya heading back to the Hokage's Office with Tsunade and Sarutobi. It seemed as if telling the boy about his folks would have to wait just a bit longer, at least until he could settle in. Tsunade had already taken over the Hospital, but was ready to hand over the reigns to Shizune so that she could spend more time with her godson and acutally adopt him. Jiraiya was already planning on making her one of his advisors, with the old man being the other.

Naruto hadn't forgotten about that, however.

"Hey, Kyoufu! Wait up!" He called out to him.

"What's up, kiddo?" Jiraiya asked, already knowing what Naruto wanted.

"Well...I made Chuunin like you said, so...can you tell me? I mean...about who my folks are?" Naruto asked, his eyes hopeful.

"I'll come by the dojo tonight. I'll tell you there. I need to get back to the office to get settled in, so I'll see you later. Okay, brat?" Jiraiya told his Godson, ruffling his hair playfully.

"Thanks...Kyoufu. Will you be coming too, Oba-chan? Jiji?" He asked the other two.

"Sure. I'll drop by, Naru-chan. I'll even bring Shizune." The beautiful blond told him as she pulled him into a hug. He got a huge grin at the mention of Shizune. She was an awesome cook, better than Miu, alothough he wouldn't say it aloud. She saw her as another older sister, one that doted on and fussed over him left and right.

"As will I, my boy." Sarutobi added. He too knew the truth, but hid it from the world to protect him until he was strong enough. From what Naruto had proven to him, it was finally time. The time to finally learn about who he really is had finally come.

_'THIS ought to shake things up a bit...At the very least, these fools here in the village will eat a HUGE shit pie once they find out just WHO they've been abusing all these years. At least he didn't grow up spoiled like that Uchiha brat.'_ Tsunade thought with a smirk.

_**ON A HILLTOP OVERLOOKING THE VILLAGE...**_

Two figures stood on a distant hilltop over looking the village, taking in the view. These two figures were of two very different heights, but both wore the same black cloaks with red clouds, complete with straw hats with a veil all around the brim.

"I heard that Konoha was just attacked, but it looks like nothing happened. Pretty impressive. I didn't know that your old home village had such good shinobi, Itachi." The taller one commented, lifting his head to reveal his face. He had blue skin, gills, and serrated teeth, like a shark.

"The shinobi were not this good when I left. No...I have a feeling that THEY are still around. It would be prudent to exercise caution, Kisame" Itachi warned.

"Who are THEY, Itachi? Anyone that can rattle you would HAVE to be some pretty nasty customers. Customers I'd love to fight." Kisame grinned in his shark-like manner.

"Just don't underestimate them. It would be very foolish. I doubt that even my Tsukuyomi would work on them." Itachi replied. The last time someone from the Uchiha clan tried to mess with one of the Ryouzanpaku and tried using some Sharingan Doujutsu on them, it was worse than ineffective. It only seemed to annoy them.

"You seem...scared of these guys. Heh..." Kisame commented cockily as he walked down into the village. Itachi shook his head and followed, although reluctantly. He knew that these people were something...other that human.

_ A/N : Sixth Chapter! Locked and Loaded! Well, looks like the village will be eating a big fat shit burger once Naruto's true name hits them. Can't wait to write about it almost as much as you all can't wait to read about it! Okay now...Three days have passed since the invasion. Naruto, Shino, and Shikamaru made Chuunin, Kisara and Takeda have made contact and not much was damaged thanks to the masters! _

_ By their awesomeness combined, the Ryozanpaku!_

_ Sorry...Had to do it! The Gods of all things awesome and gnarly...Chuck Norris, The Dude, Mr. T, and Evel Knevel...demand homage and reviews! Do it, or the Gods of Awesome won't just go medieval on your asses, they'll go Stone Age!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay now...Chapter 7 is now up and running. Man...this one was a long time coming. I've included a few twists in this chapter. To all those who flamed me about how things are going thus far and for making Sakura the way she's protrayed...I really oughtta shove you into a swimming pool filled with double edged razors and then throw you into a vat of lemonade and rubbing alcohol! But...that is PROBABLY illegal in several states (If not ALL of them...), and also unethical. Anyway, all ranting aside, here is the 7th chapter and how the Akatsuki meeting the masters turns out, as well as what happens to Sakura AFTER she was dragged away. You'd think that such an uber-bitch would have some kind of serious screw loose...You may be right!_

_**WITHIN THE VILLAGE...**_

Itachi and Kisame were making their way around the village carefully, since Itachi was still spooked about the masters. Sure enough, there was little to no damage from the invasion that Orochimaru masterminded. In short, his efforts were an epic failure. The two ducked into a dango shop quickly to both ease suspistion and to plot out how to find their target, one Uzumaki Naruto. From snippets of conversations they had been hearing, the shinobi all respect him, but almost all of the civilians despise and loath him for being the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

"Being on good terms with the shinobi of the village will make this harder to pull off without being noticed if our organization and goals are to remain secret. We must find and lure him out." Itachi suggested.

"You even know what the brat looks like?" Kisame asked.

"Yes. I was once part of ANBU and I had to pull him out of an angry mob. I am familiar with what he looks like." Itachi answered, sipping his tea.

The two were sitting for a few moments extra until they decided to go and have another look around. They finally overheard something about where he resided, near the outskirts of the village proper and towards the forest.

"Good. The further away from the town, the better. Let's go Kisame." Itachi motioned to his partner, who followed after.

_**RYOUZANPAKU**_

"So...this is the place, eh? Pretty big." Takeda commented as he tried to push the door open, but it barely budged.

"Eh? What's up with this door? It's...oof...heavy!"He exclaimed.

"Come on, you big wimp. I'll give you a hand." Kisara ribbed him as she got behind the door as well, only to discover the same thing.

"What the hell?" She yelled in exasperation.

"Oh ho...Visitors?" A voice from behind them asked.

They both spun around to find a small man with a moustache standing where they felt...nothing! He snuck up on them like some kind of ghost! The two regained their bearings as they regarded the man.

"Yeah...We were given directions to this place by a short kid with crazy blond hair, just made Chuunin..." She asked, but the man's eyes dawned in recognition.

"Oh...You mean Naruto-chan! You must be the one's he was expecting! Please, do come in." He beckoned as he delivered a simple palm thrust that nearly swung the door off of its hinges.

"Whoa..." Was the shared reply from the two Chuunin as they walked inside to see the other masters training in the yard until the one that invited them ran up to them.

"Hey! Glad you guys made it! I'll show you around before we have that spar!" He greeted them excitedly as he nearly dragged them on a tour of the place. During which, they saw several eye-popping things happen, like Apachai punting a training dummy into LEO (Low Earth Orbit), Shigure reducing another one into sawdust with what seemed like a single swpie of her blade, Sakaki ripping a steel girder in half with a flurry of punches, and the seemingly wiry Akisame swinging around heavy stone statues with ease.

"These guys are the masters here and my senseis! They're wicked strong and awesome doesn't even scratch what these guys are! They taught me nearly everything I know!" He told his new friends proudly as he continued along the way. Takeda saw something he liked when he saw Miu, but Kisara AND Naruto gave him the evil eye.

"I wouldn't mess with Miu-onechan if you want to stay healthy. I STILL can't beat her, no matter what I try or do." He warned the ash haired pugilist.

"Got those wandering eyes, have you?" Kisara asked dangerously.

"Oh no, Kisara-chan! I'm just...having a look around!" He explained frantically, hoping she bought it.

"Yeah...I'm sure..." She muttered. She has a bit of a complex about her bust size, being an A-cup at 19 was pretty embarrassing. The two women here in the dojo had to be pushing D-cup at least, making her a bit irritable.

"Hey, Kisara-neechan...You alright?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Yeah...I'm cool. So what's next, kiddo?" She asked, changing the subject.

"The dojo itself! We can have our spar there if you want!" He replied with a grin.

Upon entering the dojo, the last resident of the complex showed himself.

"Visitors, Naruto-chan?" The voice, deep and wise, asked.

They turned around to see Fuurinji Hayato, the Elder of the Ryouzanpaku. To Kisara and Takeda, it was the tallest and most massively built old man they had even seen. To add to that, he didn't even register in their senses when he arrived behind them.

"Hey, Jiji! They were gonna spar with me!" Naruto informed his relative.

"Really now? That sound like fun!" The old man clamored as he ripped off his top to reveal the ludicrously built body, again that weird light in his eyes.

_'They GOTTA teach me how they do that...'_Naruto thought until he and his new friends were snagged up and dragged into the courtyard.

"Now, just to be fair, all three of you come at me at once and I'll only use 0.002%!" He called out cheerfully as he stretched out.

"Uh oh...He's gone battle wacky again..." Naruto muttered.

"You related to this guy?" Kisara asked, incredulous.

"Yep. He's my Greatuncle and Miu-onechan is my cousin. I just learned about them a month ago." Naruto replied.

"So...that hottie...(Kisara glares at him, changing his words around)...err...girl Miu is his GRANDDAUGHTER?" Takeda exclaimed.

"Yep. Any guy that wants to go out with her, Uncle Hayato wants to test them out first. If they can't even last a few seconds against him, he sends them packing." Naruto shrugged, making Kisara laugh out loud.

"To get the princess, you gotta beat a monster...How much more cliche can you get?" She said, making Takeda sulk.

Naruto noticed that his Great uncle had vanished during their impromptu conversation, his eyes going wide.

"Holy...INCOMING!" He shouted right as a ridiculously powerful blow impacted right next to them, the sheer force sending them flying in all directions. All three recovered in the air, landing on their feet and tried to re-group, but the old man was fast, REALLY fast, fast enough to stop them from linking up or trying any moves alone, so Naruto made a few Kage Bunshin to try and distract him while he got them together.

"JESUS! Is he human?" Takeda asked.

"I'm still on the fence about that, too." Naruto replied with deadpan look.

"What's the plan, guys?" Kisara asked her defacto team.

"Well, I'll make a few more Kage Bunshin and try to keep him busy while we all sneak in and at least try to engage him. It's the only way." Naruto offered.

"Well, it's better than nothing, I suppose. I'll hit him from up high." Kisara said.

"I'll go low." Takeda offered.

"Then I'll go right down the middle. Two of my clones will help each of you get close, but you'll be on your own from there." Naruto warned, getting ready to launch a distraction.

Kisara and Takeda also readied themselves to attack while their clones coiled up, ready to pounce.

"GO!" Naruto shouted as he weaved through handseals.

_**FUUTON : DAITOPPA!**_

The wind attack wasn't meant to do any actual harm, but to kick up enough dust to obscure what they were about to do. Kisara, Takeda, Naruto and the clones used the cover to attack the wily master, following their plans through to the letter. But...Takeda's uppercut was caught, Kisara's heel drop was blocked, and Naruto's Mubyoshi was completely ineffective. With one massive movement, the elders shook them all off and sent them flying again, this time taking them down.

"Ahh...Now wasn't that was fun, children?" He asked them, a serene, grandfatherly smile on his face as he sat down on the pile they landed in.

"Uuugghhh..." They all collectively moaned as he dragged them over to Akisame to sort them out and patch them up.

_**MEANWHILE...**_

Kisame and Itachi had made their way over towards the edge of town, but had bumped into Kurenai, Asuma and Gai en route. Engaging in a short scuffle with them, they gave them the slip with Mizu Bunshins while the real ones reached Ryouzanpaku's gates. Kakashi and Sasuke arrived on the scene shortly after, Sasuke in hot pursuit of his brother. After finding that they weren't there, they continued their search.

"Hmpf...Big gate. Maybe they're compensating for something, eh Itachi?" Kisame chortled while the much shorter Uchiha pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance at his partner's strange sense of humor. He was trying to sense anyone other than the Kyuubi container within the compound, but was coming up empty.

"It should be safe. Kisame, open the gate." Itachi ordered.

Kisame complied as he swung his greatsword, Samehada, at the door with all of his might, but it was like banging a stick against a steel beam, sending vibrations up Kisame's arm.

"Whoa...Now THAT'S a gate." Kisame commented as the tremors in his hands calmed down.

"Apa? Visitors?" A new voice from behind asked. They both wheeled around to see someone even taller than Kisame standing there with a curious look on his face.

"Ah, yes. We are looking for one Naruto Uzumaki. Might you know where he is?" Itachi inquired politely. He believed in the saying _'You catch more flies with honey'_ and this often got him the info he needed without resorting to force.

"Apa! Naruto-chan! He's in here!" Apachai cheered, not knowing who they really were and what they wanted.

Apachai put a finger against the door and shoved it open with force to spare, making Kisame feel strangly inadequate. That aside, they followed the giant of a man inside, quickly finding their target, who was busy getting his bearings back along with his two new friends.

"Naruto-kun. You must come with us." Itachi told him as more of a command than anything else.

Naruto looked at the two strangely. "What? Why should I?" He asked.

"Our organization desires to gather all those like you to meet the goals of our leader. Now come with me." Itachi demanded again, reaching out for him. As he did that, a shout of rage and pin-prick of Ki diverted his attention.

"ITACHI! PREPARE TO DIE!" Sasuke screamed as he charged up a Chidori while running at his brother with reckless abandon, madness dancing in his Sharingan.

Before Kakashi could save his favorite student, the masters had already intervened, Sakaki holding a now dangling and even more highly pissed Sasuke (If that's even possible...) by the wrist.

"LET ME GO! I MUST KILL ITACHI! LET ME DOWN, COMMONER!" Sasuke raged and ranted at the mountainous Karate-ka, who simply ignored him to focus on the missing nin.

"You got a lotta nerve coming here, gaki." Sakaki growled.

"Uchiha Itachi...What might you possibly want here...and with our student, no less?" Akisame asked of him evenly.

"For our organization to achieve it's goals, we need the ones who house the nine demons within them. Naruto-kun is but one of them." Itachi told them, ready to flee if the odds soured any more than they already have.

Kisame, however, was itching for a fight and went straight for the wiry Jiujitsu Specialist...and got himself chucked over ten yards away faster than they could blink.

"Oh my...That was a refreshing breeze." Akisame commented idly.

"Wha...What the hell?" The blue skinned nuke-nin asked, completely bewildered.

As Kisame tried to regain his bearings once again, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sarutobi showed up on the scene, making Itachi curse his bad luck.

_'The target is too heavily guarded. I would barely be able to take one of them, much less all of them. This mission is a failure and we must retreat.'_The Uchiha killer thought.

"I told you to be careful, Kisame. These are not ones to underestimate just because they are not shinobi. They can easily outclass even the Sannin if provoked, with the elder being far beyond even that. We must go now, we cannot succeed as thing stand." Itachi warned, preparing their escape by casting the Amaterasu, The Black Flames. Using this unnatural firewall, they quickly made a beeline for the outer hills just beyond the village borders.

Jiraiya whipped out one of his scrolls and sealed up the Amaterasu flames within it, since nothing can really put them out, and the masters all convened on what the hell just happened. As it were, Kensei spoke out first.

"So, that was the dreaded Akatsuki, was it? I believe they were after the Kyuubi sealed within young Naruto-chan, but for what?"

Sasuke and Kakashi were still nearby, as Sakaki still had his hand dangling from his grip like a human dingle-berry, so they heard it all. Kakashi understood why Itachi would risk coming back. He was actually using his head and determined that the prize was far too tempting for an organization like that to resist. To Sasuke, he found out about Naruto's...fuzzy problem and was smoldering with jealousy.

"You mean that the dobe has this powerful demon sealed in him that gives him all of this power? Where can I get one, Kakashi?" He demanded.

Kakashi may have been a favortist sensei and didn't like Naruto, but he knew that Jinchuuriki were more cursed than anything else. They constantly had to struggle to keep their demons under control and if Sasuke possessed such little self-control with the Curse Seal, then giving him a demon like the Bijuu was the paramount of irresponsibility. Besides, if he tried it now, he would surely die.

"Uchiha-chan...You don't fully seem to realise what a Jinchuuriki truly is or the mechanics behind them. Think of what Naruto's life had been like up until a month ago. Every vessel has gone through that. The Suna boy, Gaara, is a vessel just like Naruto is, but he was barely sane and could barely control his demon." Hayato told the arrogant boy sternly.

"Don't look down on me like I'm as weak as the dobe or the nutcase Gaara! I can handle that power! I need it to kill...HIM!" Sasuke snarled until Tsunade cut in.

"Look, you arrogant little shit...All vessels start out as newborns due to the fact that once your coils are set, sealing the demon would rip you to shreds, not that I'd care." She snarled right back at him, making him falter.

"Then, why is the dobe so special?" He retorted.

"Because he was born the night the Kyuubi attacked. He was our only hope and he's handled the demon better than we dreamed possible. The Yondaime was wise when he selected him for the task. I should know, as I was there when it happened." Sarutobi answered.

Sasuke didn't like hearing the truth, so he lashed out at the closest target, Naruto himself.

"Give me that power, Dobe! I deserve it more than you!" He raged until a left straight knocked him senseless.

"Beat it, brat. You've worn out your welcome here." Takeda scowled, Kisara placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. They liked Naruto, they really did, and this Uchiha kid was really getting on their nerves.

Naruto looked like he was gobsmacked when his new acquaintances stood up for him like that.

"Hatake...Take the Uchiha...brat and leave. You are not welcome...here." Shigure warned, her infamous Akabanetou drawn.

Kakashi knew to cut his losses and he left without a fuss, lest he be sliced into chum on the spot.

Once the hubbub died down and the Chuunin pair took their leave, Jiraiya asked if everyone, Miu included, could come to the dining room to hear what he was about to say. The masters all knew what was about to happen, Shigure chomping at the bit now that the time was finally here to reclaim what little family she had left. After setting up silence barriers to stop eavesdroppers and spys, Jiraiya had his Godson sitting before him.

"What's up, Kyoufu?" The blond Chuunin asked curiously, his head cocked off to the side slightly.

"My boy...How much do you know about the Yondaime and the circumstances behind your seal?" Jiraiya started out.

_**TREATMENT ROOM UNDERNEATH THE YAMANAKA FLOWERSHOP...**_

Chiaki and Takato Haruno were currently within the treatment room of Yamanaka Inoichi, who was performing a form of psycho-therapy on their daughter. The commotion she had caused at the award ceremony today was the last straw and seeing as how she was currently unconscious due to one of the Jounin incapacitating her for her outburst, they shed all pride and pleaded with Inoichi to help cure their daughter of her obsessions.

Inoichi was reluctant at first. He remembered how badly Sakura acted toward his daughter before and Ino's accounts of how Sakura managed to do what very few had even done, reject the Shintenshin. This could cause severe mental backlash on the caster and Ino was very lucky to come away unscathed. However, the pleading her Sakura's parents changed his mind and now he currently found himself preparing to jump into the strange and scary world that was the mind of Haruno Sakura. First, he injected her with a sleeping draft that would keep her asleep for the duration of his jump. Her awakening with him still in there would result in him being trapped in there, and we won't have that, now will we?

Finally, all preparations completed, he took the plunge...

_**SAKURA'S MINDSCAPE**_

Inoichi landed in a open, grassy plain and saw a mansion nearby. Everyone had their own verison of a mindscape, so he assumed this was hers as he ventured inside. Upon entering the mansion, he spotted the problem right off the bat in the form of countless pictures to Uchiha Sasuke. It was like some creepy shrine inside _**(Think Mallet Island Manor from the first Devil May Cry Game)**_and it was beginning to give the veteran mind-jumper the hibbie-jibbies. This is saying something, since he has to jump inside of the minds of hardened criminals and works with Anko and Ibiki for Christ's sake!

He made his way cautiously through the winding halls of the manor, making a mental note that locking away this destructive obsession with Sasuke would be doing the VILLAGE a favor, not only the Haruno family. Next, he came into the hall of her memories. Once inside, he began to rifle through them to find the cause of her obsession. Once he found that memory and erased it, maybe it would take care of the obsession.

While he looked for the memory, he stumbled across another memory. This one involved Naruto, about 6 years ago...

_**FLASHBACK**_

_A six year old Sakura was walking along her way to her first day at the Academy when she was pelted by a mudball that had a rock in it, causing her to cry out and it the ground. A girl with purple hair stepped into view, laughing and taunting the downed girl._

_"Look at that huge forehead!" One child exclaimed._

_"Yeah! She's ugly!" Ami, the offending girl taunted._

_They continued to make fun of little Sakura and every time she tried to stand, they pushed her back down. However, a unlikely savior came along, also on his way to his first day at the Academy, one Uzumaki Naruto. He saw what they were doing and launched himself at the lead bully, tackling her to the ground and making the rest scatter, screaming about a monster. _

_"What? You think you can just pick somebody weaker than you? Try picking on me!" Naruto yelled at Ami as he shoved her away._

_"Two little freaks should be together, anyway!" She screamed as she tore off for the Academy._

_Naruto turned around and offered Sakura a hand up, which she was hesitant about at first._

_"Aw c'mon! I ain't gonna hurt ya!" He smiled at her, which seemed to make her feel better as she took his hand. He seemed nice enough as she listened to him babble on about pranks he'd pulled and about the wonders of ramen. During one of his pauses, she worked up the nerve to ask him his name._

_"Oh, I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Nice ta meetcha'...um..." He answered, remembering that he didn't know her name._

_"M-my name is S-Sakura, Haruno Sakura." She replied shyly._

_From there, the pair made their way to the Academy, where the young girl noticed all of the glares directed at her new friend, but since it didn't bother him, she didn't really pay it any mind. The made it to the Academy, albeit they were late by over a half an hour. The instructors opened up on him with both barrels, yelling and screaming at him yet giving her a gentle chastising. _

_A week had gone by and she had further befriended Naruto but he was gone for a full week after that and the bullies were targeting her again. This time, and blond girl named Ino stood up for her and they hit it off quickly. During one of their little play sessions, Sakura mentioned another friend of hers...and the answer she got changed the course of her life._

_"So, who is this mysterious boy that saved you form those bullies?" Ino asked._

_"I can't believe I didn't tell you his name! His name is Naruto." Sakura answered, but got a gasp then a scowl._

_"Sakura! Don't you know about him? Everybody hates him! If you keep hanging out with that idiot, people a going to hate you, too!" Ino admonished_

_Sakura was trying to be fair to Naruto, but too many people hated him and said too many negative things about him. _

_'Could my parents be wrong about him?' She wondered, as she decided to go with what Ino told her._

_Another week passed by. Ino started introducing her to her friends and to her hobby, fangirlism over the now last Uchiha, Sasuke. _

Inoichi paused for a moment as he found the root of Sakura's affliction. '_Well, managed to find the cause. It was Ino that created this monster...'_He thought. He was about to leave it at that, but wanted to see where Naruto fit into all of this.

_This week also saw the return of Naruto to class. Upon seeing his friend already sitting down, he made a beeline for her but his joy at seeing her again was short-lived._

_"Hey, Sakura-chan! Sorry about being gone for so long, but I was in the Hospital for a li-..." He explained to her as he tried to sit down next to her, but she wheeled around on him and fixed the unprepared blond with a withering glare._

_"What do YOU want?" She growled._

_"Wha...What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto stammered, not knowing what was happening. It was so surreal to him since only two weeks ago, she was his best and only friend. Now, he comes back to this._

_"What's wrong is that you're even talking to me, Naruto-baka!" She yelled at him, bringing a small tear to his eye and breaking his heart._

_"Naruto-baka! Leave her alone! Nobody wants to be around someone as annoying as you!" Ino shouted._

_Naruto looked down at his feet as he sadly shuffled off to the back of the classroom, soft sniffles could be heard as he tried to hold in what he was feeling, but the jeers of the class and from the instructor of all people wore his resistance down as he put his head down on his desk and cried._

Inoichi was appalled at what his daughter had done to the boy when all he wanted was a friend. What galled him even further was the fact that this happened AFTER he had a talk with her about said boy.

_'That poor kid...He didn't deserve that. She's got a lot of explaining to do.' _Inoichi thought as he exited her mindscape...or at least tried before a massive hand scooped him up and held him threateningly.

_**"Shannaro! What the hell are you doing in my head?"**_The massive being that looked like Sakura with the kanji for 'Inner' on it's forehead.

_'Dammit! Ino told me about something like this, but I still can't believe it. This girl has some kind of MPD __**(Multiple Personality Disorder)**__...Her parents were right to bring this up. We can't have shinobi running around like this.' _Inoichi mused.

"Easy there...Put me down! I am Ino's father and I was asked by your parents to enter your mind!" He tried to reason with the being, but it only served to infuriate it even more.

_**"So, that little weakling Sakura's parents finally wanted something done about me, eh? I got rid of that blond kid that she suppressed me with before and now I can do the same with you!"**_'Inner' Sakura roared as it started to bear down on Inoichi with all of it's might.

_'That's it! The kid gloves come off!'_ He thought as he began to assert himself with more authority.

"I just thought I should warn you. You're not dealing with an amateur like my daughter. Don't force me to get rough." The elder Yamanaka warned, which went unheeded.

"Fine...I warned you." He muttered as he gathered his all of his will, pried himself free and knocked her away with an invisible fist.

After the inner persona was stunned, he swiftly went to work on binding up the violent entity, so that he could seal it away. He could tell that this persona was what one could call an "Id", one that had been controlling her emotions since Ino caused Sakura to doubt herself and her choices. The Id was about to take control when Naruto befriended her and helped to suppress it. Once Ino did what she did, it weakened Sakura's control enough for the Id to swoop in and it twisted her thinking into hating him with a disturbing, keeping him at a distance and keeping her after Sasuke, who it knew Sakura could never obtain, keeping her confidence down while slowly siphoning away her soul bit by bit. This also prevented Naruto from aiding in suppressing it again, seeing him as a critical threat to it's existence.

No sooner than the Id had been sealed and awaiting disposal, a doorway appeared out of nowhere that had locks and chains all over it. As Inoichi reached for it, the chains and locks fell away, leaving the door to creak open loudly. The dust cleared to reveal the Sakura from the memory, curled up into a ball as if she were sleeping. He cautiously walked up to the girl and shook her awake. The girl yawned lightly and sat up slowly.

"Oh...Hello. Who are you? What are you doing here? It might find you, you have to leave!" The younger Sakura warned, looking around.

"Oh, that thing?" He asked, gesturing to the sealed mass behind him with his thumb.

Young Sakura's eyes went wide with surprize at the sight. "Wow...You're REALLY strong!" She gushed. Inoichi had the good graces to color slightly.

"Now, as I said before, I'm Ino's father and your parents asked me to enter your mind to see what was going on." He told her.

"Sugoi...So you're Ino-chan's daddy?" She asked.

"Err...Yes, I am. Now then, Sakura-chan...What can you remember? Have you been locked away here long?" The mind-jumper asked as part of making his diagnosis.

"Well, the last thing I remember was Ino-chan telling me that Naruto-san was bad and that I shouldn't be around him anymore, but he was so nice to me and saved me from bullies. Why would Ino-chan do that?" She asked.

_'Whoa...She's been locked in here for over six years and her cognitive memory ends where the Id took over. Now that the Id has been taken care of, however, her mind will revert to where it was six years ago. This means that all of her shinobi training will be lost to her and she'll almost have to start over again, as well as maturing from scratch. At least she'll get a chance to start over and hopefully repair the mess that Id made of her life._'Inoichi thought as he finished sealing away and disposing of the mental demon so that it could never harm it's victim ever again.

"I can't tell you that, hopefully you can make it up to him by being his friend again. He did nothing wrong and hurt no one, just remember that and you will be just fine." Inoichi told the girl as he exited the mindscape.

_**BACK IN THE YAMANAKA BASEMENT...**_

Inoichi jerked suddenly as his soul and mind returned to his body, then his head rose. Sakura's parents had been waiting for nearly an hour after he took the plunge into their daughter's head and eagerly awaited news of any sort.

"How is she? Is our daughter alright?" Takato asked of the therapist.

Inoichi proceeded to tell them about what he saw inside her head, about what caused her obsession with Sasuke and how it all spiraled downward from there, including the meeting with Naruto. They were happy that he saw it within himself to help their daughter. He then told them about what had caused all of this in the first place, about the Id. Her parents gasped in horror and shock at what their daughter had within them. It was a similar situation to that of the Uzumaki boy, only he seems to be in control and a generally nice boy judging by the memory. However, Inoichi had yet to tell them the worst part.

Before they could even move, a light enveloped he girl, scaring the crap out of all adults present. Once the light died down, Sakura was still there, but she was...different.

"What the...? What the Hell happened to our daughter? She shrank!" Takato bellowed. They were now staring at a six year old Haruno Sakura, still dressed in her red dress which was now way too big on her tiny frame.

"Oh...MY BABY!" Chiaki wailed into her husband's chest.

Inoichi performed another quick dive into her head and upon coming back out, he sighed in relief.

"It seems that with the Id gone, he body reset itself to match it's mental state. She is now six years old once again, mentally and physically. Other than that, she's okay." He soothed the parents.

"WHAT?" They chorused, causing Inoichi to explain just what the hell happened inside their daughter's head. After his explanation, they seemed to accepted it, although grudgingly.

"In order to ease her into readjusting when I wake her up, I suggest that we find the two peers she was closest to when at this age. I suggest that you go find my daughter Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto. He now lives at the edge of the village and my daughter is currently with her team at Shushuya's." The mind walker told them.

The parents wasted no time in going out to find the people needed to ease their daughter back into a normal life.

"You find Ino, I'll find Naruto!" Chiaki shouted as she tore off to track down the errant blond boy that might hold half of the key to her daughter's eventual recovery.

_**BACK AT RYOZANPAKU...**_

Naruto was seated at the dinner table inside the main hall at the dojo. The masters, Miu and his Great uncle, Sandaime, his Godparents, Shizune, and his three brides-to-be were all seated around him, Jiraiya asking him a question.

"How much do I know about the Yondaime and my seal? Well, I do know that he was the one that slapped it on me in the first place, along with fuzzy in there. I know that the seal let's some of it's power out but that's only when I'm really angry or scared." Naruto answered honestly.

"Well, I can't fault you for not really knowing all that much. The inner workings of your seal are a closely guarded secret for a good reason. As for what I asked about the Yondaime..." Jiraiya paused, bracing himself and allowing Naruto to do the same.

"His real name was Namikaze Minato and his wife's name was Kushina." He answered.

"What does this have to do with me, Kyoufu?" Naruto asked, still puzzled.

"Naruto, her maiden name was Uzumaki." He told the boy, letting him slide the pieces together.

He mulled it over for a moment then froze. "Uzu...Maki? She's my mom? The my dad was..." He stopped, hardly believing what he was hearing.

"That's right, gaki. Your father was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, my student and the son I never had." Jiraiya told him finally.

Miu and the others gave him space to process all of this information. They had to admit that this was quite a hard and bitter pill to swallow. Your own father placing a malevolent demon within you was pretty damn hard to take.

"B-but...if he was my...dad and everybody liked him so much, why did they all treat me like some kind of monster?" He asked, tears beginning to form.

"My boy...Fear and panic can give rise to the greatest of follies. A dear friend once told me that the person is intelligent, but people are dumb, panicky animals. The mass fear that gripped this village after the Kyuubi incident ran out of control and there were certain elements within our own council that used it to their advantage. Minato, your father, wanted you to be seen as the hero that saved our lives and countless others for holding the Kyuubi captive, but his trust was betrayed." Sarutobi responded, looking even older than before.

"But, that still doesn't explain why no one even wanted to adopt me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It wasn't that no one would, but that no one was allowed to, Naru-chan, not until now. The council drafted a law that no one was allowed to adopt you since you had blood-relatives and named Godparents that still lived. I was told that you were dead and left this place in anger. Jiraiya was told to stay away and the rest that knew the truth about you were pressured to stay silent in exchange for your continued life." Tsunade explained to her Godson sadly, Shizune nodding in agreement. He kinda grew on her, like a flesh eating diesease or that fuzzy mold on the month old leftovers in the back of your fridge.

"Those bastards..." Naruto whispered in disbelief. He'd always tried to see the good in everyone, taught by Iruka that there always was a little good left in even the darkest soul...but the Civilian council had just proven him wrong.

Shigure took this opportunity to speak to him, and the WAY she spoke surprized everyone.

"Naruto-kun...I was also told that you were dead and to my eternal shame, I did not check for myself. I was too distraught to even think clearly and I simply killed off my emotions to forget about the pain, but that is NO excuse for my neglect." The weapons mistress spoke out as she told him her story and of how she was supposed to be his Onee-chan.

"Please...forgive me..." She begged, her bow so low that her bangs were touching the tatami.

Naruto was stunned even further with all of these truths coming to light this day, but he was nothing if not enduring. He stood and walked over to the woman and hugged her as hard as he could.

"Onee-chan...I forgive you." He muttered into her ear.

Shigure simply broke out into the first honest and unguarded smile that the masters had ever seen as she hugged him back. She finally felt like she was more complete again, the one missing piece had finally been revealed and it slid into place, for both of them.

"From now on, I will take up the Uzumaki name along with Naruto-kun, as I have no need for this false name any longer. I am now Uzumaki Shigure, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, and older sister to Uzumaki Naruto, future Rokudaime of Konoha." She declared in a crisp, clear voice. She no longer had that verbal pause that she once used and her eyes seemed to be teeming with life once again.

The rest of the people present were happy for the newly reunited family. The girls were still in shock that the one they truly liked was really the only son of the Yondaime. Now since they liked him without knowing his real heritage, no one could accuse them of liking him only for his lineage, like the Uchiha's fangirls. Their feelings for him were real and no one could contest that now.

Tsunade was also happy about this development for her Godson and the fact that his chosen future wives honestly cared for him, famous or not. She was also happy that Naruto had now been reunited with his sister, not by blood, but close enough. Shigure was Kushina's protege and adopted daughter, so that made her family as much as Shizune was. Kushina was like a daughter to her like Shizune was, so that made Naruto and Shigure like Grandchildren, although she would NEVER admit to that.

Jiraiya cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention once again.

"I have one final piece of information about your mother, Naruto. This also explains the Kyuubi attack and why it happened." Jiraiya spoke again in a tone that was very serious.

Outside the Dojo walls, Haruno Chiaki had finally arrived at Ryouzanpaku and managed to squeeze herself in through the a gap in the gate since it was left open, making her way inside, intent on finding Naruto. She could see soome figures behind the Shoji screens in the main hall so she decided to go there, believing that Naruto might be there or that whoever was in there would know how to find him.

The door was left open a slight crack, negating the sound proofing seals Jiraiya had placed on them as he continued to weave the tale of the chain of events that led to the Kyuubi attack.

"You see, Naruto isn't the first Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. There were two others before him. The first host was the wife of the Shodaime, Tsunade's grandmother and Kushina's relative, Uzumaki Mito. When she died of old age, the Kyuubi was then sealed into Kushina herself. Finally, after she had married the Yondaime and she was giving birth to you, a man named Uchiha Madara sought to take advantage of the Kyuubi by yanking it out of the host when the seal was at it's weakest, when a female host gives birth. She managed to survive the Kyuubi being ripped from AND childbirth, but one of the people who delivered you, the wife of Sarutobi-sensei, and many ANBU had been killed in the process. The Yondaime managed to wound Madara before he had the Kyuubi attack Konoha. Finally, it took the combined effort and lives of both of your parents to seal it within you. They loved you kiddo. Never, EVER, doubt that." The Toad Sage and Godaime Hokage finally told his Godson.

Chiaki was floored, as was everyone else in the room. Not even the masters or even the elder knew the whole truth about the Kyuubi attack. She didn't hate the boy like most everybody else did, but saw him as another victim of the attack. Now that these facts were brought to light, she was even further shocked that the two vessels before Naruto were married to the Sho and Yondaime Hokages and that the Yondaime and the previous vessel was his own mother.

_'The strength that this boy possesses seems to run in his blood and he holds relations to at least four of our five Kages! Amazing...This really is karma at work here.'_Chiaki thought as she shifted slightly, lightly bumping the Shoji screen and getting their attention.

"I command whoever is there to show yourself!" Sarutobi demanded in his most authoritative voice, the rest of the rooms occupants readying themselves for a fight.

The door slid open to reveal a head of pink hair.

"Sakura? What the hell are you doing here? Get out!" Naruto shouted. He was ready to evict the trespasser by force until she raised her head to show her face, making Naruto skid to a halt.

"You're not...Sakura...Who are you?" Naruto asked.

She got down into a submissive bow, her head held low and eyes on the floor. "Uzumaki-san...Please, help me help my daughter, Sakura! Something happened to her..." Chiaki told the room full of occupants, flooring many of them.

"An Id? How did that go un-noticed for so long? Weren't the Academy shrinks supposed to weed things like that out? And just how in the name of KAMI did she shrink? That doesn't make any sense!" Tsunade asked.

"I truly don't know, but Inoichi-san managed to subdue it and dispose of it, but as I told you, Naruto-san is one of the only people that can help her at this point, the other bring Ino-san. Unfortunately, they both want nothing to do with her..." The woman managed to get out before she started crying again.

The girls, Miu, and Shigure were all still super pissed at Sakura for her antics, but this truth threw their opinions of her for a loop. It now appears that she was under the control of this Id and now...she's younger again. They could understand that Naruto would be thrown for a loop and would struggle with himself on the matter if he should help her or not.

Naruto was at a loss over what to do. He now knew that the reason that she turned on him wasn't really her fault, that she was like him in a sense for a while, only it controlled her. However, he was still pretty sore about all of the humiliation, pain, and heartbreak she had caused him over the years.

Tsunade noticed her Godson's conflict with his conscience. "Naru-chan. This is your choice to make, not mine." She told him as he mulled it over.

_'Well...Her parents weren't ever mean to me and they said that it was this...thing...inside her that made her hate me. Sakura was my friend at one point and my first friend. Now she's reest back to where she was still my friend. But, what about Ino? She had a hand in this, too. I need to talk with her about it. NOW.'_He mused. He then turned to Mrs. Haruno.

"Haruno-san...Tell me where she is. Please." He asked of her.

Chiaki was overjoyed as she hugged the young Chuunin, both of them standing up again.

"I'm gonna go help them. I'll be back." He told the rest of the people present, but Sarutobi and Jiraiya stopped them.

"I'll only say this once. What you just heard is an SS-Rank secret. No one, NO ONE, must hear of this beyond those here today. The penalty for letting this information is a slow, gruesome death at the hands of Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Am I understood?" The new Godaime asked, his question laced with an edge to it.

"I swear to secrecy, Hokage-sama." Chiaki swore, her green eyes rife with seriousness.

"Haruno-san, put your hand on my shoulder and I'll get us there with a jutsu I learned recently." Naruto instructed as she complied. With a single Ram seal, the two disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"I hope that she keeps her word. Naruto-kun will be in a world of trouble if this gets out." Hinata wondered.

"No. She won't. She's a mother first. I could tell that she was completely serious when she swore that oath. Also, she and her husband are some of the only people that treated Naruto like a human being and not a monster. She'll stay silent." Tsunade assured. She was a human lie detector, so if she said someone was on the up and up, she meant it. The others backed down after hearing the legendary medic and kunoichi vouch for the woman.

_**WITH TEAM 10 AT SHUSHUYA'S BBQ RESTAURANT**_

Team 10 had pulled into their favorite haunt, intent on celebrating Shikamaru's promotion to Chuunin. Team 10 was surprised with, but welcomed, Ino's recent attitude change. She was training with them more and not complaining nearly as much, although she was still a bit bossy. She actually ate proper meals instead of going on crash diet after crash diet. It was painful for them to watch her slowly starving herself into an early grave. One of the most welcome changes was the fact that she stopped talking about her _"Sasuke-kun"_ altogether. In fact, the last time someone tried to gossip with her about the prodigy, she got rather cross with them and told them that he didn't matter to her anymore and left it at that.

"So Shika, you, Naruto and Shino all made Chuunin. I'm so proud of you guys! I was thinking that this was justice in a sense. The cool, popular guys all fizzled out while you guys, the unpopular guys and the underdogs, all made Chuunin on your first try!" She congratulated the shadow user.

"Yeah...But I didn't really WANT to make Chuunin. I mean, now I have extra work to do and harder missions. Man, what a drag." He complained.

"It's not the end of the world, Shikamaru. You'll still have time to hang out with the team and still get to do missions with us." Asuma reassured.

"Yeah! We can still hang out, Shika! Just like old times! Me and Ino'll make Chuunin before you know it!" Chouji added.

Asuma was glad that the poison that was Uchiha Sasuke had been purged from his team, more specifically from Ino. Since she stopped fawning over him, she had made a turn for the better. Treating her teammates and others much better than before and not talking about that wretched Uchiha anymore. He was about to reflect some more when a brown haired man burst into the restaurant and was looking for someone. His eyes scanned the room before locking directly onto his team, Ino specifically. He was about to stop this man until she spoke out first.

"Aren't you Sakura's dad? What do you want with me?" She asked, wary of anything to do with Sakura.

Haruno Takato wasted no time in recapping what had happened after the ceremony, including all of what Inoichi had told him.

_'So THAT'S what kicked me out of her head...An Id! Those things are dangerous! I could have been killed by that thing and dad destroyed it on his own! But...The Sakura I first met ceased to be once I spoke bad about poor Naruto...I STILL haven't been able to apologize to him for that. And poor Sakura...now she's a six year old all over again...'_ The young mindwalker thought sadly.

"I'll go with you. Let's go!" She almost shouted as the pair ripped out of the shop, bound for the Yamanaka residence.

_**YAMANAKA RESIDENCE**_

Just as Naruto and Chiaki arrived via Shunshin at the Yamanaka House, with Ino and Noburo running at them from the opposite direction. Ino smiled softly when she saw Naruto in his new Chuunin vest and walked over to congratulate him.

"Hey there, Naruto! I just wanted to say..." Was all she said before she was cut off.

"Save it. Just...save it. I already know about HOW this all happened, Ino-_san_...But, just leave it for now and let's go inside. We have some damage to undo." Naruto told her with a tense voice, unable to look her in the eye.

Ino understood why he was so upset since it was proven that SHE was the one that set this all in motion by not heeding her father's advice, setting this chain of events into motion. She indeed felt horrible about it, since Naruto was really a decent guy and Sakura was his first and ONLY friend at the time.

'_I don't know if I could ever make it up to you...or to her. But I'll do my damn best to try. I owe Naruto and Sakura that much to at least help in fixing this mess I helped to create.' _Ino thought sadly as she let Naruto and Sakura's parents inside.

She brought them downstairs to the treatment room, a place where she had done most of her training in her clan's arts. There, both parties saw the pink haired girl still sleeping peacefully in the deep chair she was set into. Inoichi, who just came back into the room while finishing a small sandwich, saw them.

"Ah, good. I'm glad you could come, Naruto-kun. Now before I wake her up, I believe that my daughter has something to say to you." Inoichi told him slightly glaring at his daughter, but she didn't need the cue.

"Naruto...I...I'm so sorry. I was just young and stupid...trying to fit in, but that's no excuse for all of the things that I did and said to you, even though my parents told me that I should try being your friend. I just thought that I was helping Sakura, but I just wound up hurting you both. I swear I'll make this up to the two of you, no matter how long it takes. No matter what it is I have to do, I'll do it. Please...just give me the chance to make things right again." Ino pleaded with him, stunning even her own father with how far she was willing to go to make amends.

Naruto stood and thought hard for a few moments with his eyes closed and arms crossed. After thinking for a moment, he came to a decsion.

"I...will wait until I hear what Sakura has to say, but until then, let's at least be civil to each other. Me getting pissed at you won't solve anything." Naruto reasoned.

Ino smiled lightly. There was still some hope left, after all. She didn't want them to hate her and she was kind of getting attracted to her fellow blond, a little more so now that he was showing extreme restraint and forgiveness for the living hell of a life she contributed to.

Inoichi grinned at the young Chuunin for showing benevolence when he didn't have to. He was made to suffer but he still hinted at forgiveness towards his daughter and her friend. The Haruno parents were happy with this as well. He was willing to put the past behind him in order to heal a rift that had been ripped open years ago.

Inoichi picked up a syringe that held a clear liquid and injected it into Sakura's arm, bringing her back around slowly. She groaned for a moment, then her green eyes fluttered open and she sat up slowly, holding her head.

"Honey? Are you okay?" Chiaki asked her baby girl.

"Mama? Where am I?" She asked, looking around and at her hands and body.

"What's going on? Why do Naruto-kun and Ino-chan look so much older?" She asked again, now becoming frightened.

Inoichi moved in to explain things to the now 6 year old Sakura.

"You see...There was something very bad inside of your mind and I went in to take care of it. I killed it, but you were still affected. You WERE 12, almost 13 and an official kunoichi. Now, since I killed the demon, it reset you back to when it first possessed you, giving you a second chance. That is why Ino and Naruto look so much older. You've been asleep for over six years. I'm sorry." He told the little girl to soothe her.

Little Sakura teared up, sniffled and then launched herself at the closest person to her, Naruto, and cried into his Chuunin vest.

"Waahh! I'm scared, Naruto-kun!" She cried as he awkwardly patted her on the back as he clumsily racked his mind for something to make her feel better.

"Hey, um...Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't be scared. I'm here, Ino is here, your parents are, too." He told her softly as he got her to stop crying long enough to look around. She immeadiately jumped from the blond to her parents.

_'Well, she WAS really cute at that age...'_Naruto mused at the effect the young Sakura had on him. Without even trying, she broke through his anger and made him forget the speech he intented to Sakura once she woke up. He couldn't hate her now. She was an innocent again. The Sakura that did all of those horrible and hurtful things to him was gone, leaving this scared child in her place.

Ino had been told of what happened, but seeing it was a completely different story. She ran back up to her room and fished out the ribbon that Sakura gave back to her when they both decided that they liked Sasuke. True to how she was all those years ago, her hair was shaggy and fell in front of her eyes.

"Hey...Sakura?" Ino asked.

Little Sakura turned from her parents and ran up to her, in her mind, new friend. "Huh? What's up, Ino-chan?" She asked innocently.

"Hey, uh...Here. Let me give you this..." Ino said as she tied the ribbon into her hair, holding her bangs back. She now looked exactly like Ino remembered.

She looked in a full mirror that was stored in the basement and giggled in approval. She bounded up to Naruto to get his opinion.

"Hey, Naruto-kun...How do I look?" She asked.

Naruto couldn't resist chuckling and smiling at this now adorable Sakura. He STILL had trouble wrapping his brain around what the hell just happened. However, he saw it for what it was, an opportunity to regain a friend that he had lost to that asshat Sasuke. As stated earlier, he just couldn't bring himself to hate her since the one he hated technically didn't exist anymore. She was the sweet little girl he befriended on that fateful day.

"You look really cute, Sakura-chan." He grinned warmly at her, making the little girl blush a deep shade of red, much to the amusement of everyone else present.

"Do you like him, Sakura?" Her mom teased.

"Uh...Uh huh..." She admitted bashfully.

Ino smiled sadly at what could have come to pass if she had just listened to her parents, although now Naruto was treating her like a kid sister and Sakura was all too happy to lap up the attention. It was still infinitely better than the way things were before and they looked happy enough with the way things are.

"Say...Ino-chan? Why did you tell me that Naruto-onichan was bad?" The little girl asked, expecting an answer that had better be good.

"Sakura-chan...I was wrong about him. I said those things because I wanted everyone to like me and I thought that if you stayed around him, then people would pick on you even more. I thought that i was helping you, but I was wrong. He's one of the nicest people I've even known and one of the strongest. I still don't know why people hate him so much, but I know that they're wrong, too." Ino admitted.

"Is that all? That sounds like a dumb reason to not like someone." The little girl commented.

Inoichi called Naruto over for a second.

"Naruto...Do you think it's safe to tell them about your...secret? With her mindset and Ino's acceptance, there's a damn good chance that they will understand." Inoichi asked.

He mulled it over for a second before asking Sakura's parents if they were comfortable with Sakura learning this.

"This is your secret to share, Uzumaki-kun. If it makes you feel better, then we approve. She needs to know the truth." Takato told him, his wife agreeing.

"Sakura-chan...Come here for a moment. I have something to tell you about me." Naruto called out to the little girl as he sat down in a chair. Sakura responded by bounding into his lap like it was story time.

"Now...This all started 13 years ago on the night I was born..." Naruto began, gently telling the child the truth in a way that she would understand. As he wound down the story, the trademark intelligence that got her through the Academy the first time showed itself.

"So...It's like you're a glass and you're holding water?" She asked, stunning the rest of them with her level of understanding.

"Well...Yeah. Pretty much. That's all I am, is a container." Naruto confirmed her notion.

"That's the stupidest reason to hate someone I've ever heard!" She yelled as she threw her tiny arms around his neck.

"Nii-chan is Nii-chan! That's all I care about!" She added with a wide grin.

"If only everyone else were as smart as this little girl..." Inoichi mused sadly.

"But Naruto-kun pulled through. He's a strong boy and an even stronger ninja. It's too bad that he's so much older than her now, but it's still okay that she sees him as an older sibling, someone to look up to. He's a good role model for her and Naruto-kun seems to be enjoying this, too." Chiaki commented with a smile.

After everything calmed down, Naruto asked if he could take Sakura to Tsunade to have a look at her to make sure nothing went wrong, to which her parents readily agreed. He picked the tiny girl up and got himself ready to teleport.

"Ready, Sakura-chan?" He asked, getting an enthusiastic head nod in return. Before he Shunshin'd them away, he cast a look over at Ino.

"I...forgive you." Was all he told her as he teleported himself and his pint-sized passenger away to Ryouzanpaku, hoping that his Godmother or Shizune were still there.

_A/N: There...#7 done and printed. Now...I KNOW that a LOT of people will flame me for how things are turning out, but let me make one thing DAMN clear... Sakura is NOT in the harem pairing and I made her into a little sister (Literally), and gave a reason for her being such an uber-atomic-bitch. If you don't believe demonic possession can really fuck someone up, watch the Exorcist sometime! Also...If the way things are developing, STOP READING THE GODDAMN FIC! I'm SICK of reminding people that these fics are written for YOUR enjoyment, you ingrates! Show some f***ing respect for those who actually have the BALLS to publish what they write!_

_Whew...I'm good now. Anyway, feel free to review or PM me with any question and I'll try to respond to them! CIAO!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Here we are at Chapter 8. The Akatsuki have already met the masters, made Chuunin, learned of his parents, Sakura shrank and is now a little kid again...Holy Crap! Things have just been happening so quickly in just a few days! But...if you really concentrate on the world around you, you'll see that it's possible. I don't mean to sound like a PSA, but get out more! Do some running, jogging, catch up with a friend, shoot some hoops! Ride a bike, rollerblades, or whatever wheeled conveyance out there! The world's a big place and has lots of stuff to do if you care to look for it. There...That's the ramblings of a fool for you, take it as it is..._

_Anyway, a lot has happened, with more to go still. The Uzumaki clan has a couple more members hidden within the village and won't YOU be surprized as to who they are!_

_**BACK AT RYOUZANPAKU**_

Naruto arrived back at Ryouzanpaku in a swirl of leaves that was standard for many Konoha shinobi, just outside of the gates as he set the now Chibi-Sakura down. The little girl walked up to the gates and tried to push them open, but it was an exercise in futility which was pretty damn fun to watch _**(Watch Spaceballs, the fight scene between Dark Helmet and Lonestar...Damn, that's funny!)**_.

"Here, let me get the door." Naruto chuckled as he assumed his stance.

_**MUBYOSHI!**_

The door flew open from the force of Naruto's blow, much to the awe of the small child.

"Sugoi...That was awesome, Nii-chan!" Sakura cheered as Naruto led her inside.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's go find my Auntie Tsunade and have her take a look at you." Naruto told the little girl, who suddenly became a bit scared and clutched at his vest.

"Don't worry, she's just going to see if you're healthy." Naruto comforted.

"N-No shots? I d-don't like needles." She told him.

"No, no. She's not gonna do anything like that." He said to soothe the frightened child. She seemed to feel a little better as he led her by the hand inside of the meeting room, where it seemed everyone was waiting for him to return.

"No one...left? You guys were waiting for me?" He asked, a bit puzzled but glad that his Godmother had stuck around. It saved him the trouble of tracking her down.

"No, we wanted hear about what happened out there and what the end result was." Kensei told his future son-in-law.

"Yeah...So spill the beans, Gaki!" Sakaki called out.

No sooner than he said that, a tiny girl with pink hair stepped out from behind him, shaking in fright.

"Eh? Who the hell is this brat?" Sakaki asked in his own personal style, which seemed to scare her even more.

"I'm s-scared Naruto-nii!" She cried, clutching his side for dear life.

"What'd I do?" Sakaki asked, puzzled as to why she was so scared of him. It wasn't his fault since he had no experience with small children.

"I do believe that you come off as a touch scary for her, Sakaki-kun." Akisame explained to the confused Karate-ka.

"Hello! I'm Apachai!" The towering Muay Thai master greeted the small girl, who seemed to loosen up.

"Don't be shy, Sakura-chan. Say hello to Apachai-sensei. He won't hurt you." Naruto coaxed.

"H-hello, Apachai-san." Sakura managed to squeak out in greeting. The girls saw her timid reaction and couldn't contain themselves.

"Aww...She's so CUTE!" Renka exclaimed as she rushed up to the little girl, Raichi following her. Hinata held back, noticing the pink hair.

_'It IS Sakura! So THAT'S what happened to her...'_ Hinata gasped in surprize as little Sakura looked up at her questioningly. She then tugged at her sleeve.

"Excuse me? Why are your eyes like that? They look kinda like the moon." The little girl asked innocently.

All of Hinata's hatred for the older Sakura had begun to dissipate. She was now coming to grips with the fact the Sakura she knew no longer existed and left this innocent little girl who was around Hanabi's age in her place. Just like her betrothed, she just couldn't bring herself to place her anger onto this now innocent child who knew nothing of what her former self had done. She looked down at the girl kindly and responded.

"You see, my whole clan has eyes like mine. It's simply the way we're born, that's all." She answered patiently.

"Yeah, some people are just born that way, just different, but that's not a bad thing. I'm different, but I'm not bad, remember?" Naruto added, to which the girl nodded her head.

"I know, Naruto-nii! It's just that her eyes are really pretty!" Sakura complmented.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. That was very nice of you." Hinata encouraged, patting her on the head and earning a giggle for it.

Miu had her own misgivings originally, but upon hearing that she was literally a child again, she felt that she would need a fresh start and to be treated as a little girl should. She was above such pettiness and believed that she had been given a second chance and would not spoil it. She saw that Sakura's clothes were way too big on her now tiny frame, so she left upstairs to fetch some of her clothes from when she was Sakura's age. She came back down and helped the little girl dress into a pair of shorts and a gray Gi top that looked rather cute on her.

"Thank you, Miu-oneechan! I like these clothes!" The little one thanked her with a wide grin.

"You're quite welcome, Sakura-chan." Miu told her with a gentle smile.

The little girl then bounded up to her adopted big brother figure to ask his opinion.

"How do I look?" She asked him with a shy smile that all of the females in the room found completely adorable. They had a hard time accepting that this was the same psychotic fan girl back before her mental health took a swan dive off of Hokage Mountain.

Tsunade and the rest of the adults watched on as the younger ones, Shizune included, fussed over the little girl, Raichi offering to give her some of the clothes that she out grew years ago but were kept in storage.

"It's almost like fate granted her a chance to redeem herself. I just hope that this works out and she grows up right this time." The medic commented as she stood up.

"Oi, Gaki...What'd you bring her here for besides show and tell?" Tsunade asked with a half smirk.

"Oh yeah...I was wondering if you could take a look at her, just to make sure everything's alright." Naruto requested of her.

"Sure...Let's get her to my office at the Hospital." He told her godson/nephew as she and Shizune left the building, motioning for them to follow.

Naruto loaded the girl onto his shoulders and followed after his Godmother with Hinata while Raichi left back to her place to pick out some old clothes that would fit the small girl and Renka went to look through her things for anything she could use.

Hayato and the other masters looked on with pride as the younger generation saw it in their hearts to forgive and forget.

"Indeed, this generation has much promise." Sarutobi mentioned aloud.

"I agree, old friend. This village is in good hands so long as young ones like them stay on this path. If they can do that, this village has a bright future ahead." Hayato agreed.

"Yeah...The way I see it, I'm just keeping the seat warm for Naruto, 'till he's ready for it. He's got the heart for it, now everything else just needs to catch up." Jiraiya said of his apprentice and god child as he and Sarutobi rose from the table and returned to the tower to deal with the fall out of Itachi's sudden appearance and his objective.

"Now...How will we go about dealing with the threat of the Akatsuki? We already have Yami to deal with, you know." Akisame asked.

"Yeah...Those psychopaths aren't just going to go away and they're just as bad and powerful as this Akatsuki." Sakaki agreed.

"I just hope _he_ won't come back for Miu-chan. Poor girl was messed up pretty badly from when he killed her mother." Kensei added.

"We will just need to be vigilant. From what I hear, they all have apprentices of their own, and will see our having Naruto-chan as a direct challenge. They will have an advantage in the fact that Naruto is a sworn shinobi of this village, but they have no such loyalties tying them down. He will need to know about them soon. He needs to be ready...or he will die at their hands." Hayato told the others gravely.

_**KONOHA HOSPITAL - EXAMINATION ROOM**_

Tsunade led her patient, along with Naruto and Hinata in tow to see if she was alright and they found themselves in an Examination room near her office. Once inside, Tsunade told them to stay put while she left to get a couple of things. Sakura noticed that throughout the trip there, Hinata would hold Naruto's hand on and off, so she decided to ask about it. From her last memory, she had liked Naruto a lot but he was so much older than her now as well as a Chuunin! She was only a little girl. She didn't have much time to think much else since Tsunade came back in.

"Naruto, could you wait in the lobby for me?" She asked.

"Sure, Oba-san." He replied.

Sakura made to grab his hand to keep him from leaving, but Tsunade held her shoulder.

"I won't hurt you, sweetie. Now, let's get started on your physical." She told the girl as she did the standard battery of tests for a child her age, height, weight, a blood sample, sight, hearing, etc. Finally, she was done and Tsunade had given her a sucker for being so calm when she drew the blood sample.

"Now, you just wait here with Hinata while I get your results from the lab, okay honey?" Tsunade asked of the little girl, who nodded. Tsuande smiled and left the room. Sakura turned to Hinata.

"Ne...Hinata-neesan? What is Naruto-nii to you?" She asked intently.

"Oh? Well, he and I are engaged to be married when we come of age." Hinata answered truthfully, making the little girl's face take on a saddened visage.

"Oh...I see." Sakura said, her tone even more morose.

"Sakura-chan, do you...like Naruto-kun?" Hinata chanced to ask.

The little girl sniffled some more.

"He was the first boy to like me...to talk to me and be my friend. He saved me from those bullies. I really liked him but...Now he's so much older than me and a Chuunin! Not just him...everybody else is older and I can't remember what happened! I'm still so scared!" Sakura admitted, tears beginning to run down her small face. Not to beat a dead horse, but she IS a six year old now, one that's going through a VERY scary ordeal and couldn't be reversed. To her, it's like time stopped for her by and she got left her behind.

Hinata felt her heart go out to this little girl, it really did. Before the incident that caused Sakura to start hating his guts almost overnight, the little girl was completely smitten with him, very much the same way she was all those years ago.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I know how you feel. I've liked him for a long time, too. Now, I am engaged to marry him, along with two other girls who really like him..." Hinata told her as she explained the situation.

"Hey wait...Can't I be one of Nii-san's girls? I like him too!" Sakura declared as she gave the Hyuuga girl one of the cutest pouts that she'd ever seen, Hanabi not withstanding.

Hinata couldn't resist giggling at the sight before she replied.

"Sakura-chan...You're too little for that! You might not be able to be his wife, but you will always have him as your Onii-chan, right?" Hinata answered her, making the little girl smile.

"I can live with that!" Sakura beamed with a huge smile. She really was different from before. She was a very shy and timid girl, but now she's more upbeat.

_'It must be because of Naruto-kun...He bolstered her confidence with how he received her condition, seeing her as a kid sister instead of hating her. This really is for the best. She really was an adorable little girl. It just shows how corruptive the Uchiha's influence was.'_ Hinata thought as she entertained the child until Tsunade returned.

_**HOSPITAL LABS**_

Tsunade had just finished conducting the tests on Sakura's blood sample and found something odd. On a hunch, she tested the genomic sequences within the blood against another sample and was presented with a startling discovery.

"Naruto! Get in here!" She yelled.

Naruto came crashing through the door to the lab when he heard her call for him.

"Wh-What? What's wrong?" He exclaimed, looking around wildly.

"Come over here for a moment. There's something that you need to see and hear. You see, I thought there was something odd about Sakura's blood and it's sequencing, because it looked very familiar to me. I checked it against yours and your mothers DNA...and found that she had half of her allieles in common with you from her mother's side." Shizune explained.

She had explained minor genetics to him during her tutoring sessions with him during the month prior to the Chuunin Exams. Naruto understood what had she was trying to say...Sakura was a direct blood relation to himself...a cousin.

_'A cousin? I was chasing after my COUSIN? SICK! BAD NARUTO!'_ Naruto blanched.

"Something wrong?" Tsunade asked with an amused smirk. She could see what his problem was clear as day.

"I can't believe I was in love with my own cousin for a while...Anyway, who was she related to?" Naruto asked.

"I did some tracing with a blood sample from her mother and found that her mother's side of the family were Uzumaki, more specifically her mother herself. She and your mother shared the same parents." Shizune told him without looking up from her microscope.

"So Chiaki-san...is my aunt?" Naruto asked, completely bewildered.

"Yes...She is. As you know, I myself am related to you by blood since my grandmother was an Uzumaki, so I knew what to look for. There's no doubting it. They are Uzumaki, just like you." Tsunade explained.

"But...Where did their pink hair come from?" Naruto asked.

"It was more than likely a genetic quirk, like my blond hair, since my neither of my parents had blond hair and neither did my grandparents. She is younger than your mother, so they may not have even known about it themselves. Uzu was destroyed when Kushina was younger than you and had been away for some time before that, so she may not have even known about her sister, or vice versa." The Blond Senju related to her Godson.

"But one question remains, Lady Tsunade...One of the Uzumaki traits is having massive chakra stores and hers were, well...pitiful." Shizune posed.

"Well...That might be due to her father's DNA. He's from a long line of civilians, so their chakra stores are severely under-developed. That would explain her chakra deficiency." Tsunade surmised.

"Think we should tell them?" Naruto asked.

"I think we should tell them together and ask Chiaki what she knows about her family." Tsunade suggested as they left to get Sakura.

_**EXAMINATION ROOM**_

Hinata was teaching Sakura to play Cat's Cradle when Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto walked into the room. No sooner than Sakura saw him, she launched her tiny body at him like a pink missile, making the three females there chuckle slightly.

_'Well...I guess it's a good thing she's so affectionate toward Naruto-kun. She IS related to him by blood...and to Lady Tsunade, too.'_ Shizune thought as Tonton lept hopped out of her grasp and made her way over to Sakura, sniffing her and making her backpedal.

"Don't be scared, Sakura-chan. Tonton just wants to say hello." Shizune coaxed.

Sakura extended a wary hand to the small pig who sniffed her intently as it hopped into her arms, oinking happily and nuzzling her. The little girl giggled in response as she cuddled the animal.

"I guess Tonton has a new friend." Tsunade mused with a grin as the door to the room opened up to reveal the other two brides-to-be, Raichi and Renka. Both of the girls had a bag of clothes apiece for the little girl.

"Oh! Hi One-chans!" Sakura greeted the newly entered pair.

"Sakura-chan...here! I went through some of the clothes I outgrew when I was your age and I think you'll like them!" Raichi told her as she pulled out a small white sundress with a matching barrette that Sakura was eyeing.

"Hey kiddo! I had some of my stuff stored at the Ryozanpaku after all thanks to papa, so I had some clothes for ya!" Renka added, pulling out a child sized Chinese style dress that looked like it would fit her perfectly.

"Ohhh...These would so cute on you!" Hinata gushed.

"That was really kind of you girls to do this." Shizune commented and praised as she looked at the clock. It was already getting late.

"We should really get her home. Her parents might be getting worried about her by now." The brown haired medic told the young ones.

"Is it really that late? Well, c'mon Sakura-chan! I'll get you home!" Naruto told his young relative, but was halted by Tsunade.

"Hold on there, gaki...Did you forget? I'm going with you." Tsunade told him before turning to the other girls.

"You all should head home...This is a family affair." She told the cryptically.

"Shizune...Go and tell Hayato that Naruto is with me. Meet me back at the house.

Naturally, it confused the hell out of them and of course they resisted at first, but a stern look from the Sannin was all that was required. She did say that they could leave their bags with Naruto and that he would deliver them for them. After a quick goodnight from each of them, Tsunade and Co. took of at a rapid clip for the Haruno residence.

_**HARUNO RESIDENCE**_

Tsunade and Naruto carrying Sakura arrived at the Haruno Household with breakneck speeds, eager to reunite missing pieces of their lost and shattered family. Tsunade walked up and knocked on the door herself.

Chiaki answered the door to find Tsunade standing there, Naruto holding her daughter on his back. It seemed as though she had fallen asleep on the way there. She quickly ushered them inside the house. Takato was working at that time as he always worked the late shift at the accounting offices.

"I guess my daughter really is attached to you, Naruto-kun." Chiaki joked as she removed the small girl from his back, tucking her into bed. She noticed the bags that his clones had dropped off at their doorstep.

"What are these, Naruto-kun?" She asked.

"Oh, uh...My fiancees thought that they would give Sakura-chan some of the clothes they wore when they were her age, since the clothes she has now are too big for her. Miu-onechan gave her the Gi and shorts to wear when I brought her to my place." Naruto told her.

"That was very kind of them to do. Please thank them for me and tell them that they are welcome here at any time." Chiaki thanked the young man as Tsunade cleared her throat, getting to business.

"Chiaki-san...Naruto and I...Have something you need to know about." Tsunade said, her serious tone beginning to scare her.

"Wh-what is it? Is there something wrong with her?" Chiaki asked with great alarm in her voice, her pale pink tresses flying.

"There's nothing wrong with her. She's a perfectly healthy little girl with a big appetite, but we found something odd in her blood. Shizune, my assistant, did some hereditary tracing based on her blood and yours...Tell me, what do you know about your family?" Tsunade asked.

"M-my family? Well, I was found in the orphanage as a baby, but I was adopted quickly by a civilian family. I went to the Academy and retired from service as a Chuunin after I met my husband. We got married, had Sakura, and that's pretty much the end of it. Why...Do you ask, Lady Tsunade?" The woman answered timidly.

"As I told you, we did some digging on a hunch and found whose family you belong to and you have a nephew that you've already met, along with being related to one of the founding clans, as well as a once close ally. Your real maiden name is Uzumaki. Your blood sister was Uzumaki Kushina, and by blood, my relative as well. I guess you can figure out who your nephew is." Tsunade smirked at her gobsmacked reaction.

"I'm...an Uzumaki?" She asked as she sank into the chair.

"Yes. Uzumaki Kushina was your elder sister, but since she left Uzu at such a young age, it's likely you were born soon after, since she never knew about you. Add in the fact that nearly all information and records were lost when Iwa destroyed Uzu, it was by no small miracle that you wound up at the Orphanage here in Konoha and and that's when you adoptive parents took you in. It's really kind of aggravating that we never saw the fact that you basically look like a pink haired version of her. Bottom line here is that you are related to the Senju and belong to the long thought dead Uzumaki clan, which now has two heirs, Naruto and his now younger cousin Sakura." Tsunade explained.

Chiaki was happy to have learned of her birth family and of her birthright, but was still pensive.

"But...What of the council? Once they catch wind of this, they will be sending wave after wave of suitors who are just after the clan name. They will want to turn her into breeding stock." Chiaki argued.

"Like hell I'll let that happen to my itoko. You two are my family, just like Hayato-jiisan, Miu-onechan, and Shigure-onechan. I'll kill off the entire council before I let that happen to her." Naruto vowed, his eyes glowing blood red for a brief moment.

"He's right. I know that Jiraiya will not let it happen. He will know, since is was Minato's sensei and Naruto-chan's Godfather, and so will Sarutobi-sensei. We will keep this a secret until you're ready to tell the world that the Uzumaki clan isn't dead yet." Tsunade assured her.

Chiaki seemed to calm down after Tsunade's reassurance. She knew that while he WAS a massive pervert, Jiraiya was actually quite moral and wouldn't dream of forcing Sakura through something as traumatic as being a baby making machine for the highest bidder. In fact, he highly frowned on such things. He chased after women, yes...but he would never force himself on them. On another front, she was wondering how she would tell her husband about this.

"I wonder how Takato will take this..." She wondered.

They didn't need to wonder for very long as the man in question slumped into the house, exhausted.

"I'm home..." He yawned, walking into the living room, finding his wife there along with Naruto and one of the ledgendary Sannin.

"Uhhh...What's going on here?" He asked nerviously.

"We have some rather...surprizing news to tell you. I hope that you will keep this in the strictest confidence, as will we." Tsunade told him, spooking him a bit.

"Nothing happened to Sakura, right?" He exclaimed.

"Easy there, Sakura-chan's fine! I tucked her into bed myself and Oba-san said she's healthy as can be." Naruto explained to calm him down.

"R-really? Okay, then..." He sighed in relief.

"What's going on, dear?" He asked his wife.

"Well...Uhm...Tsunade-sama and her assistant were running the standard tests on Sakura's blood when...they found something familiar. Did I ever tell you that I was adopted when I was a baby?" Chiaki told her husband, who looked dumbfounded.

"N-No...You didn't." He replied.

"Well, I was and I never knew about my blood relatives...until now." She said, taking a deep breath to continue.

"Tsunade-sama found common elements within mine and Sakura's blood that ties us to one of the founding clans of this village...as well as to Tsunade-sama herself and one more person. He's standing in this room now." She explained to him, trying to let him do the math himself.

"You're a...Senju?" He asked incredulously.

"No...But I'm related to them by blood. The other relative that's here now is Naruto-kun, my nephew." She replied.

"B-but...then...who was his mother?" He asked.

"That is the part that I was sworn to secrecy about. I've been authorized to tell you, since you technically married into the clan, but you have to keep this a secret. Our daughter's welfare is hanging inthe balance, as well as my nephew's. Hokage-sama will KILL you if you tell anyone else. Now...Promise me." Chiaki asked her husband forcefully, trying to convey just how serious the situation really was.

He hadn't seen her so serious and grave since her kunoichi days. Chiaki was a woman to be reckoned with back then and he knew that she was dead serious about this matter. The added grave looks from Tsunade and Naruto only added to the air of seriousness.

"I...I promise. I swear I won't tell a soul." Takato swore to his wife.

"I'll take over here, Chiaki." Tsunade spoke up, taking over the explainations.

"Most people today don't know this, but there was once a village called Uzushiogakure, that the Uzumaki clan hailed from, and were close allies with the Senju. So close, that a woman from that clan was married to the Shodaime Hokage, my Grandparents. A woman from that clan had been married to almost each Hokage, save the Sandaime and Godaime. Among them, was Uzumaki Kushina, wife of the Yondaime Hokage, the elder sister of your wife. As for what happened, from what we gathered, your wife is a few years younger than her sister, Kushina having come to this village when she was very young herself. Just mere months after she came here, Uzu was completely destroyed by a combined force from Iwa and Kumo. By some miracle, your wife was found alive and brought to the orphanage here as a baby, where she was adopted soon after. That explains why they never knew. As for her hair, the Uzumaki women are know for their red hair, but her's is pale pink. That is merely a genetic quirk. Take myself for example, neither of my parents or grandparents had blond hair, yet I do. The bottomline here is that Chiaki's maiden name is Uzumaki and Naruto here is her nephew. Since you have married outside of the family, he is the defacto Uzumaki clan head once we can restore it and he becomes a Jounin. Once that happens, you will be able to come out with the truth without the council's interference and meddling. This will include an alliance with the Senju, the Hyuuga, the Li and Ma families, as well as Ryouzanpaku. You stand to gain a lot of powerful friends and protection, provided you keep your silence." The blond Sannin explained to him.

_'This is crazy! Even worse...What Tsunade-sama said made more sense than I thought it would...Nobody knew anything about her real parents, even her adopted parents didn't know anything. They always say that blood never lies...'_ He thought as he mentally poured over the information he just learned.

"Hey...I know I'm just beating a dead horse here, but you need to keep this quiet, okay? I don't want to have to silence you, since I just found out that you're my uncle and Sakura-chan is my cousin. I don't want to make her cry, but I'll do what I have to do to protect my family." The young Chuunin told the full grown man, his voice and crystal blue eyes as hard as the strongest steel.

"I...I understand, Naruto-san. I, too, will do what it takes to defend my family. I may not be a shinobi or know how to fight, but I'll do anything to protect them." Takato responded to his declaration.

Naruto and Tsunade grinned to each other and nodded.

"Welcome to the family." Tsunade told him as they continued to go over the finer points of everything that had occured.

"Well, we should really be going. I need to inform Jiraiya and Sensei, while Naruto needs to tell the masters and his greatuncle the news." Tsunade informed them as they vanished in a swirl of leaves.

_A/N: Well...Here's yet another chapter. For all of those who don't like this...DON'T READ IT. I simply exploited another of canon's gaping plot holes and made it my bitch, as any author worth their salt should be able to pull off. Any good professional author uses these types of plot hooks to keep things from getting too stale and I felt that this was a good twist. Sakura isn't in the harem, especially now that she has turned out to be his first cousin. I felt that with so many plot holes and that Nagato turned out to be an Uzumaki, I figured that it would be possible for there to be more unknown Uzumaki out there. Tsunade and Shizune are more than capable of analyzing her DNA and Tsunade would recognise anything familiar, since the Uzumaki and the Senju bloodlines have mixed like they have in her. Remember that her grandmother was an Uzumaki. That is a direct relation._

_Anyway, enough of my ramblings and justifications. I know that his fiancees haven't gotten much in the way of screen time, but they will have their moments soon. There is just more family business to attend to. Don't worry about me abandoning this or any of my fics without warning, because I hate it when people do that to a good fic. I'll inform you all if something that dire arises. _

_Adieu..._


	9. Chapter 9

_ An new chapter, freshly baked! Here is Chapter 9 of HSD Naruto. Now here, Kakashi will be receiving some...divine punishment for his crimes. A few really good nightmares'll be enough to set anybody straight! Anyway, I won't spoil anything good, so...Get to readin'!_

_**UCHIHA CLAN DISTRICT**_

Sasuke was sitting in his clan's library after days of scouring for anything that could be of use to him, reading what ever he could find to make himself more powerful. He was met with failure after agonizing failure. First, he was trying to find new training methods that he thought could have given Naruto his strength in such a short time, but nothing lept out at him. After more fruitless searching, he stumbled across to old scroll hidden under a loose floorboard inside the Uchiha Shrine. The scroll went into detail that a powerful enough Sharingan could subjugate a Bijuu, or in this case it's host. As he read further along, trying to figure out how this could be done, he had to stop. He couldn't even channel chakra anymore for the remainder of his suspension due to how his chakra network was sealed up by the Godaime for how he busted out a Chidori.

One needed a fully matured Sharingan to even breach the outer defenses of the host, then they needed the Mangekyou to encroach on the Bijuu itself, provided they could get past the mental defenses that the host may have. Since he couldn't have a Bijuu of his own, he'd settle for controlling one and making it his slave, like his ancestor Madara did with the Kyuubi. However, this was all pointing towards the impossible. He had no idea how to gain the Eternal Sharingan and he had no friends to kill to give him the Mangekyou like Itachi.

"DAMMIT! WHY IS IT THAT THE DOBE IS ALWAYS STRONGER THAN ME?" Sasuke roared in anger as he threw the scroll away.

"Sasuke-kun...Are you in here?" Kakashi called out from the doorway of the shrine.

"What do YOU want?" Sasuke hissed.

"Are your still looking for easy ways to get more powerful?" Kakashi asked, exasperated.

"Yes! I refuse to let the Dead Last have something that I don't!" Sasuke ranted as he began to tear the shrine apart to look for something else that might give him what he wants.

"Sasuke...The Bijuu are not to be toyed with. I was there that night, fighting the Kyuubi. It took the entire village, two Kages, and the Yondaime's sacrifice to stop it." Kakashi tried to reason with him, but it was in vain. Although, through explaining this, he was starting to see that Naruto wasn't the problem...He himself was for not opening his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he was cursing his own foolishness.

"I don't care! That demon inside him is the only reason he's so strong! If I had one, I'd be even stronger! I could kill Itachi with no problems!" The now foaming at the mouth insane Uchiha raved as he intensified.

_'Maybe I...Made a grave mistake with this boy...He needed structure more than pampering. He's insane if he thinks he could tame a Bijuu by force...'_ Kakashi reasoned as he slipped away from the compound to brood on his latest failure.

_'First...Naruto earns the Medal of Valor for beating Gaara and then the rank of Chuunin...Now Sasuke's going off of the deep end, obsessing over power so blindly that he will sacrifice anything to get it and Sakura just disappeared. Maybe Jiraiya-sama was right...I've made a mockery of Minato-sensei's teachings. He, Rin, and Obito must be so ashamed of me...'_ Kakashi thought sadly as he slunk his way back home.

Little did he and Sasuke know, there was a quartet of figures watching him from a nearby wall.

"He certainly doesn't look like much." Kidoumaru scoffed.

"He looks like a fart-catching little psycho to me." Tayuya huffed.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama has marked him to be his next body, so we have to take him with us...or he will have us all killed." Sakon told the rest with a resigned sigh.

All four of them lept down from their perch and walked into the shrine's outer sanctum. Their footfalls on the mocking bird floors alerted the brooder to their presence, making him spin around wildly.

"Who the hell are you?" He snarled.

"Easy there, Sasuke-kun. We've come to bring you a message from our master, Orochimaru-sama. He wishes for you to join him." Sakon offered.

"Hmph...Why should an elite like me join that freak?" Sasuke sneered.

"I don't know...How about the power you need to best Uzumaki Naruto and to complete your revenge?" Sakon asked, baiting him along and playing his anger.

"THAT DOBE IS NOT BETTER THAN ME!" The Uchiha roared in rage.

"You think so, shithead? That _dobe_ made you look like a chump, beat that Sand freak, AND he made Chuunin, too." Tayuya taunted.

"Che...This fruity little ass had his chakra sealed off, too! What a weenie!" Kidomaru remarked with a sneer.

"Yeah...I don't know why we're even wasting our time on a weakling like this. That Naruto kid deserves this more..." Jiroubo added, pouring fuel on the fire.

"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME! I DESERVE IT MORE!" Sasuke screamed.

"Will you join us, then?" Kidoumaru asked.

"...Give me time to think about it." Sasuke answered, his mind made up.

"Very well. We will return in a weeks time to hear your decision. I hope it will be the right one." Sakon said as they all lept away into the darkness, Sasuke leaving off to his room to brood some more.

_**KAKASHI'S APARTMENT**_

Kakashi was simply put, dog tired. He was lamenting his latest failure as a sensei and as a human being. Sasuke was slipping further and further into his self-inflicted insanity and there was nothing he could do to pull him out of it, Naruto had made Chuunin without him and he hadn't seen Sakura for days, assuming that she was avoiding him, too. He sat down on his bed and picked up the picture of Team 7 that sat on his nightstand and stared at it for a good 5 minutes, wondering where it all went so horribly wrong. Finally his eyelids grew too heavy for him to keep open and he succumbed to his slumber. Little did he know...Of the horrors that lay in wait for him...

_**KAKASHI'S NIGHTMARE**_

Kakashi opened his eyes and found himself standing next to the Memorial Stone in the middle of the night, light from the moon giving the place a creepy air to it as low, creeping fog rolled in beneath him. He was about to jump away when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

_**"Going somewhere, Kakashi?"**_ The voice taunted as a pair of rotted, decaying hands thrust out of the mist and caught his ankles, holding him in place.

"Wh-What the hell is this? Who the hell are you?" The copy-nin's voice trembled as he struggled to break free, but it was a futile effort.

_**"I'm hurt that you don't remember us, Kakashi-kun! After all, I USED to have a crush on you! Now, I can see that it was wasted on a piece of FILTH like you!"**_ Another voice, clearly female, snarled as the light from the moon became red as blood, mortal terror making his heart beat pound in his ears. That terror was multiplied exponentally when five figures, all of them in various stages of decomposition, rose from the ground and lumbered toward him. As the bloody light hit their faces, he nearly died out of sheer fright.

_**"You've made a mockery of my teachings, Kakashi. You ignored my dying wish."**_ His sensei and the deceased Yondaime, Namikaze Minato, growled.

_**"How DARE you use my memory as an excuse to betray one of your students!"**_ Uchiha Obito yelled at him, his eyeless visage glowering at him balefully.

_**"You hurt my baby...You betrayed his trust and mine...You will know suffering beyond imagining for this, Hatake."**_ Uzumaki Kushina snarled with rage and hate being the only thing alive in her dead eyes.

_**"You commited the ultimate sin! You betrayed your comrades and your own students just to gain favor with the greedy council! You are no son of mine!"**_ Hatake Sakumo, the famed White Fang and Kakashi's father, shouted. He was ashamed of what his son had become.

_**"You spit on our memories...Remember that I DIED protecting Naruto from a mob that you didn't even care enough to stop! He was only a baby and you saw fit to let him die! And now...You betray him AGAIN so you can cozy up to that Uchiha brat? How dare you!"**_ Rin screamed, her disfigured face twisted into a snarl at him as they all advanced upon him further.

"Bu-But I...I thought that I was...doing the right thing! The council said so! Sasuke was supposed to be the village's savior!" Kakashi feeblely defended.

_**"The boy you betrayed is more honorable than you could ever be and the Uchiha's soul is rotten to the core! The council only sought it's own interests, as did you!"**_ Sakumo yelled.

_**"You're spouting bullshit and you know it, Kakashi! He is the container that keeps Konoha safe from the wrath of the Kyuubi, like myself a Mito-baasama before him! Minato sealed the Kyuubi within him with the EXPLICIT instructions that he was to be seen as a hero for what he had to endure!"**_ Kushina roared.

_**"So...You took the word of those self-serving power mongers over MINE? You BRAINLESS, GUTLESS WORM! I will see to it that you will join me in the Shinigami's belly for all eternity for your betrayal!"**_ Minato bellowed.

"B-but...sensei! H-he dishonored your signature jutsu! He killed you!" Kakashi pleaded, to which the deceased Hokage back handed him viciously.

_**"That jutsu is his by right! Naruto is my legacy and so it is his birthright! I sacrificed myself so that the village would be safe and I chose Naruto because I could see within him the strength to hold the Kyuubi prisoner! It was NEVER your place to judge my decision!" **_Minato shouted with all of the rage and anger left in his departed soul.

_**"Enough with these excuses, Kakashi! The Uchiha, my clan...care nothing for the village! I should know, because it was Fugaku that nearly had me exiled from the clan for caring about the village over our clan! I thought that you under stood that loyalty! I thought you were my friend! You betrayed my trust and abused the gift that I gave to you! Now...I want it back!"**_ Obito screamed as he bore down on Kakashi, ripping his sharingan eye out.

The rest seemed to follow suit along with him.

_**"Traitor!"**_

_** "Scum!"**_

_** "Liar!"**_

_** "Die!"**_

Kakashi let out a blood curdling scream as they got their hands on him and proceeded to rip him to shreds in a grand and gruesome display.

_**KAKASHI'S APARTMENT**_

Kakashi let out a terror filled scream that snapped him back into the waking world, a cold sweat chilling him to the bone as he shook like a leaf in the wind. A sob of anguish escaped his throat as he spent the rest of the night awake, too frightened of what other nightmares lurked within his dreams should he fall asleep again.

_**KONOHA ACADEMY THE NEXT DAY...**_

Naruto had picked up Sakura for her first day back at the Academy, putting her on his shoulders and rushing her there via the Naruto Express, her giggling madly the whole way.

"That was FUN, Nii-chan!" Little Sakura cheered as they arrived at the front gate amid a crowd of on lookers, many of them not terribly happy to see him. A quick glare from the young Chuunin was all it took to make them mind their own business as he set her down.

"Now Sakura-chan, be good for Iruka-sensei, okay? Either your Kaa-chan or myself will pick you up after you're done." Naruto told her as he gave her a quick pat on the head.

"Okay, Nii-chan!" Sakura chimed as she ran inside.

Upon entering the building, she quickly ran into the classroom that Iruka specified, a class full of children her own age. Iruka walked into the room and couldn't help but be shocked when he saw her in person. It was like he walked back in time and he almost had to check the date to be sure.

"Um...Are you Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked him, tugging at his sleeve.

"Yes, I am. I am Umino Iruka, an instructor here." He answered with a grin.

"Good! Naruto-niichan told me that you were nice and to listen to you, Iruka-sensei!" The little girl chirped.

"He did, did he? Well, he was a student of mine until around six months ago." Iruka told her with a chuckle, making her gasp.

"Really? Wow! Then I'm gonna learn a lot so that I can be like Nii-chan!" Sakura exclaimed as she took a seat.

"You really surprize me, Naruto. I'm so proud of you..." Iruka whispered to himself as he went inside to begin classes for the day.

_**RYOUZANPAKU**_

Naruto had just returned to the compound to find a note from Raichi pinned to his door, so he read it.

_Dear Naruto-kun,_

_ I just realized that even though we're engaged to be married, you've never taken us out on any dates! I think that tonight we can fix that. Meet me at Shushuya's at 6 P.M. sharp! Hina-chan and Renka-chan are planning similar things, so better keep on your toes!_

_ Love,_

_ Raichi_

"Damn...She's right! I feel like such an ass..." Naruto muttered as he slumped against the wall just as the compound's resident pervert showed up.

"Ah, Naruto-chan! There you are! What have you been up to this morning?" Kensei asked.

"Ne, Ero-sensei...I just dropped Sakura-chan off at school and now I find this..." Naruto told his teacher as he handed him the note.

"Ah yes...I forgot about her...unique circumstances and her newly found relations. She is your cousin, like Miu-chan, no?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah...She is. It's been real hard to wrap my head around this, but...ever since I found out that she wasn't even in control of herself, it was easy to forgive her and start over. It's actually better this way." Naruto confided.

"I see...That is a wise thing to say, Naruto-chan. Now, moving on to this little..._heh heh_, letter. Might I suggest a few things on this little date?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows around suggestively.

Before Naruto could even respond, Akisame walked up, his eyes doing that wierd light thing.

"Where were you for our training, Naruto-kun?" He asked patiently.

"Dropping Sakura-chan off at school, Akisame-sensei!" Naruto answered quickly.

"Oh. Okay. You are forgiven. Now, what is this business about a letter?" The moustachio asked, to which Naruto answered him quickly.

"I see. In that case, may I suggest taking in a Noh play in the Edo district." Akisame suggested.

"Don't do that boring crap! Hit the town, gaki!" Sakaki shouted.

"Apa! See a movie!" Apachai yelled.

"A movie, eh? What kind?" Akisame inquired to the suggestion.

"A romance. Girls like romance, Naruto-kun." Shigure suggested, hanging down from the rafters, her mouse Touchuumaru perching on Naruto's shoulders.

"Nah! Action! Real men like action movies, kid!" Sakaki offered.

"When as the last time _you_ went on a date?" Shigure muttered

"You know...They play the REALLY good stuff after hours..." Kensei suggested, a pervy gleam in his eyes.

"Action!"

"Romance!"

"Play!"

"Apa!"

"Ecchi!"

"Squeak!"

Naruto's head was ready to explode until his great uncle walked in with Miu behind him, wondering what in the hell all of the fuss was about.

"Why don't we settle this the _usual_ way." Hayato told them as they got into stances.

"Hey whoa! Don't fight outside my room!" Naruto yelled until Miu calmed him.

"Just watch, Naruto-kun." She told him.

An aura of power was permiating the very air around them as these masters of masters were ready to challenge each other over the right to make the suggestion for their disciple's first date. Each of them was dead set on victory. He had no idea what they were about to do, but he was sure that it would be awe inspiring or obscenely destructive...maybe both.

In a flash of movement, it was all over...The victor was clear.

"Apa! I won!" Apachai cheered as the rest of the masters scoffed.

"What...the hell just happened?" Naruto deadpanned.

"It was the way they usually settle differences...Rock, Paper, Scissors." Miu explained.

"I didn't even see them move!" He exclaimed.

"I did. Each of them were changing what they had within fractions of a second until they finished." Miu told him.

"Wow...That's fast..." Naruto marveled as the lumbering giant spoke up.

"Naruto-chan should let Raichi-chan choose the movie!" Apachai suggested, making the others think for a moment.

"That's...Not a bad idea, Apachai-kun." Akisame finally spoke out, the others nodding in agreement.

"Well...It's decided. Now, I believe that we should get to your training, Naruto-kun." Akisame said aloud, a sadistic grin forming.

"Well...Crap." Naruto muttered as he was dragged off to the yard for his daily beat down.

_**A FEW HOURS LATER...**_

Naruto was busy trying to pry himself out of a crater Akisame-sensei made with his body with a simple throw and listening to his lecture on how sloppy his last move was, when he looked at a clock. It was time to pick up Sakura from her first day _**(Again...)**_ at the Academy and drop her off at home.

"Hey...Um...Akisame-sensei?" Naruto groaned.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" The moustachio asked.

"It's time...to go pick up Sakura-chan...from school. I promised her mom that I would..." He grunted out as he stood up.

"Oh. Well...Since you made a promise, you should honor it." Akisame said simply, hoisting the small blond up and _**(Painfully)**_ resetting his bones back into their proper placement. I'm no doctor, but I don't think that your femur and your lower lumbar are supposed to be touching.

"Run along now, Naruto-kun." Akisame told him dismissively, the boy doing just that, except he limped at first until his healing kicked in.

_**ACADEMY GROUNDS **_

"Does anyone have any questions?" Iruka asked the class, who all just clammed up until a certain pinkette raised her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?" The school teacher asked.

"Do we have homework, Iruka-sensei?" She asked, making the class groan.

"Why...I nearly forgot but yes, you do! I want you all to practice sneaking and stealth and we'll see how you all do tomorrow. That's all!" Iruka informed them cheerfully as he bolted for the door.

Sakura was left with a sense of fulfillment from her first day at school as she picked up her bookbag and left the school for the day. As she made her way out to the school yard, she noticed a crowd of girls older than her gathering around someone. Being naturally curious, she decided to check it out.

"It's Sasuke-sama!" One girl, three years older than her, squealed.

"I hope you're on MY team, Sasuke-sama!" Another girl, graduating this year, yelled.

Sakura got a good look at the person that they were gushing over and wasn't terribly impressed with him.

"What's so amazing about this guy?" The young pinkette asked the closest girl to her.

"What? Have you been living under a rock? He's only Uchiha Sasuke-sama, last year's rookie of the year and the last of the famous Uchiha clan! He's sooo cool!" The girl gushed.

"So? My nii-chan is WAY cooler than that guy. He made Chuunin his first time up." Sakura commented.

"Nuh uh! Sasuke-sama is way cooler than any dork that your nii-chan is!" Another girl responed with hostility.

"Which loser is you nii-chan, anyway?" Ami, a girl who was supposed to have graduated with Naruto and Sakura, asked with no small amount of disdain.

"Naruto-niichan is, that's who! He's awesome!" The little girl fired back, not liking how these people were being so snide with her.

Another group, who overheard from across the yard, came to her aid...The Konohamaru Corps.

"The Boss is your nii-chan? Man, I'm jealous! I idolize that guy!" Sarutobi Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Boss? Why call him that?" Sakura asked quizzically.

"Because...He's the boss! He taught me this really cool jutsu, too!" Konohamaru gloated as he performed the infamous Oiroke no Jutsu, changing into a buxom brunette, taking out every adult male within view and strangely enough, a couple of women.

"COOL! I wanna learn that!" Little Sakura said with a little bit of awe mixed in.

"Well...We can teach you if you want." Moegi offered kindly.

"Yeah...It's no problem and you ARE the little sister of the, so we feel obligated to look out for you while you're here." Udon added, his above average vocabulary coming to the fore.

Yet another voice made itself known from outside of the throng of people, one Hyuuga Hanabi.

"This Naruto you've been gabbing about...Is he Uzumaki Naruto? The same guy that ripped my cousin a new one?" She asked curiously.

"Um...Yeah!" Sakura answered.

"Wow...He's engaged to my big sister, Hinata! You're his little sister, then? You're going to be my sister in law in a couple of years, so you can go ahead and call me Hanabi-onechan if you want." The Hyuuga girl declared with a grin on her face and her arms folded.

"No way...The boss is gonna marry your One-chan? Cool! I hope he lets me be a broomsman!" Konohamaru cheered.

"That would be _'Groomsman'_, Saru-dorki." Hanabi corrected.

In the meantime, Sasuke froze as what the kids said registered in his head. He felt a near instant flash of rage bursting from within his gut.

"The _dobe_? HE IS NOT BETTER THAN ME! I AM THE GREATEST SHINOBI TO EVER GRACE THIS STUPID VILLAGE!" The last Uchiha snarled with rage.

"So? He still made Chuunin and you didn't. You can't be that great." Sakura retorted with a shrug as she tried to walk away, but he had a very firm grasp on her shoulder.

"You...You'll pay for mocking me!" He screamed as he cocked his fist back to hit her, only for a blur to snatch her from harm's way.

Sakura was ready to take the hit until she noticed that someone was holding her in their arms. She looked up to see who it was and couldn't have been happier.

"NARUTO-NIICHAN!" She cheered as her _big brother _set her down and stepped in front of her.

"BOSS! We're glad to see you!" Konohamaru yelled.

"So...Since you can't get what you want, you'll beat up little kids? That's low, Teme. Even for you." Naruto said, his crystal blue eyes narrowed with disgust for his former teammate's actions as many other parents watched on.

"Hn...I didn't know that worthless losers could _have_ family. Then again, she was dumb enough to mouth off to _me_, so she _has_ to be related to you, dobe." Sasuke sneered.

"Sasuke...On my authority as a Chuunin and your superior, I'm ordering you to leave here now." Naruto ordered him, trying to use his new rank to deter him without a fight. Some of the more brazen fangirls demanded that Naruto leave, but the rest obeyed and backed off.

"Feh...As if I'll listen to a dobe like you. That rank should have been mine!" The avenger yelled, spite and jealousy evident in his words.

"Not if you can't even show up on time, teme. Besides, I beat you fair and square." Naruto reminded him, hitting a sore spot.

The last Uchiha's pride howled in pain as he made another swipe for the little girl, only for his fist to be caught in Naruto's vice-like grip, his level of physical strength hard earned from his numerous torture...training exercises. Sasuke tugged wih all of his might, but he couldn't remove it. Naruto was too strong.

'_W-what? How could the dobe be so..._' "AAAGGGHHH!" Sasuke cried in pain as Naruto intensified his grip, forcing him to his knees.

"We can add attempted assault on a superior officer to that list, Uchiha." Another voice called out from the building. Iruka walked out of the main building and up to the two former teammates. Even the brazen fangirls were now backing away, since Iruka was not the instructor to mess with. He quickly ordered the rest of the rubberneckers to leave immeadiately except for Sakura, who was the victim.

"What happened here, Uzumaki?" He asked his now fellow Chuunin to brief him on the situation and brief he did. After that, Iruka's face melted away into a stony, professional visage.

"Is that so? What could little Sakura-chan have possibly said to make you try to hit a defenseless child?" Iruka pressed on him.

"Che...That little brat should have...Wait...Sakura?" He began to sneer, but he pause when he put two and two together.

"So...Is that what happened to that skanky psychopath? I thought she'd been too quiet for a while." He sneered at the girl, making her cringe.

Naruto applied even more pressure that wiped the smug look off of his face.

"That was who she used to be. She was given another chance...Now, she's my imou-chan and I don't want to hear you ever..._EVER_, behaiving like this toward her ever again! Am I clear, _Genin_?" Naruto growled.

"Whatever..." Sasuke scoffed until a blast of Ki hit him from another direction. They all looked to for the source to find none other than Kakashi.

"You never learn, do you Sasuke?" The copy-nin said, his voice cold and professional.

"What do _you_ want, Hatake?" Naruto asked, his voice laden with suspicion.

Kakashi couldn't really blame him for feeling that way after how he betrayed his former student.

_'I had that coming...I have a lot coming...'_ He lamented before he spoke.

"I saw a disturbance and came to investigate." Kakashi told the two Chuunin as he focused on Sasuke again.

"Why were you disobeying a direct order from your superiors, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned.

"Who's superior? It's only the dobe and this weak school teacher..." Sasuke scoffed again until a hard backhand sent him to the dirt, shocking the two Chuunin and little girl.

"You forget who you're talking to, _Genin_. You are talking to two Chuunin and a Jounin who are questioning you for attempted assualt on an Academy student. Maybe a suspension is too light of a punishment for you? Maybe you need some jail time to correct that attitude of yours some more?" The copy-nin tore into his now ex-student.

Sasuke was shocked beyond words that Kakashi was talking to him like he was. Before, he was handing him jutsu and training like it was candy and completely snubbing his other two students for him. Now...

"So...You're betraying me, Hatake?" Sasuke snarled.

"No. I merely woke up and realised what I had done and had been allowing to happen. I won't let you drag my career and everything I've worked for down with you, Uchiha. I wash my hands of you here and now. Now...I believe that Iruka-san can take you to the jail and book you there for your crimes." Kakashi stated with a tone of finality to his words.

"Right. Come along, Uchiha. Let's go." Iruka ordered gruffly as he hauled the Uchiha off to jail this time.

Kakashi stood there for a moment and watched him be taken away until Sakura tugged at his sleeve.

"Mister? Thank you for helping us." The little girl thanked him politely.

He took a real good look at her and his mind was pieceing things together.

_'Pink hair, emerald eyes...She can't be...'_ He thought in complete shock.

"Naruto...Is she...?" He questioned as Naruto nodded to the affirmative.

"So...That's what happened to her..." He murmured, Naruto changing the subject.

"Kakashi. We need to talk, but after I drop Sakura-chan off with her parents." Naruto told him as the little girl clambered onto his back and they both disappeared in a Shunshin.

"Naruto...How on earth can I tell you...That I'm so sorry?" The copy-nin said sadly, his already massive guilt increasing by the second as he waited for his ex-student to come back.

Naruto reappeared a few minutes later in a swirl of leaves and faced the copy-nin, who had been jsut standing there without his infamous Icha Icha out. He gave him a critical stare, searching for any hint of deceit. The man looked terrible, like he hadn't slept at all. His uniforn was rumpled and he slightly stunk, like he hadn't taken a bath or washed his clothes. Finally, Kakashi broke the ice.

"So...Um...I heard rumors about what happened to Sakura, but I didn't think they were true until I saw her in person." He commented awkwardly.

"Hmph...If you really cared about her or me, you would have known what happened to her and why it happened. What's with the change of heart, anyway? Why did you go postal on your favorite instead of helping him? What do you have to gain from it?" Naruto grilled him, trying to find any sliver of deceit.

"'Look...I...Dammit...This is really hard for me to admit this...But...I was wrong. I abandoned you and Sakura. I didn't even care if you two lived or died, as long as I had Sasuke. I was an idiot! I nearly threw everything away...All that my sensei taught me, my friend's dying lesson to me and Rin's wish...My father's last lesson to me...I as good as pissed all over them and my memories of them! I can't even look at myself in the mirror without feeling disgusted with myself and what I had done! I need to find some way to atone for all that I did! Please! Help me make things right! Please forgive me!" The copy cat begged and pleaded with him for some measure of forgivness, a hint of salvation for his soul.

Naruto was warring within himself over what to do, if he should forgive him or damn him. It was too heavy of a choice for him to make all of the sudden. He had to think about it.

"I...Can't give you an answer right now. Look, I need to go." He told Kakashi, headed back to the Ryouzanpaku compound and leaving the copy nin in purgatory.

_**NARUTO'S DATE...MULTIPLE LOCATIONS**_

Naruto had to step on it since his little incursion with Sasuke and his talk with Kakashi put him behind schedule, bathing and dressing at a record pace. He was out the door like a bat out of hell and headed right for the restaurant Raichi specified in her note. He spotted her waiting for him outside in a cute white dress with spaghetti straps and heeled shoes, her hair in it's usual pig tails. He had just BARELY made it in time.

"Naruto-kun! You were almost late! What happened?" She asked.

"I'll...tell you inside, Raichi-chan." Naruto told her. From the tone of voice he used, it had to have been serious, so she nodded and they went inside and got seated.

"Now...What's wrong, Naruto-kun? I can tell something's not right." The pink-haired martial artist asked with concern.

"It's just...I had a run in with the teme earlier today." Naruto started things off as they placed their orders.

"Really? What happened?" She asked.

"I was picking up Sakura-chan from school when I saw the teme take up root at the Academy gates. Sakura-chan called him out on something and he tried to slug her, but I managed to stop him in time. He was being a total bastard as usual and refused to listen. That was when Iruka came out and helped me with him. He still acted like an ass until Kakashi came." Naruto told her,

"Oh no...That means that jerk got off light." Raichi sighed.

"Actually...He didn't." Naruto corrected her, to her shock.

"What?"

"Yeah...I was just was surprized as you are. When Sasuke mouthed off to him to, he backhanded him and allowed Iruka to take him to jail for attempted assualt and disobeying a direct order from a shinobi of higher rank. He'll be spending some time in a jail cell for a while and won't be bothering anyone." Naurto explained.

"Well...That's good news, then!" Raichi chirped.

"Well...That part is, but what happened after that was pretty awkward..." Naruto told her as he explained what happened after Sasuke was taken away to jail this time. It's pretty useless to point her shock at the metion of the infamous Copy Ninja's begging and pleading for forgivness. Although, one thing still bothered her.

"Why? Why now after all that he's done?" The pig tailed pinkette asked, completely bewildered.

"I can't really say...I want to know what brought on this change of heart before I make a choice on what to do." Naruto answered her as their food arrived.

"Well...Let's eat and forget about this for now..." Raichi suggested as they dug into their meals and continued on with their date.

The date moved along at a steady pace, as neither of them were in any particular rush. Naruto was a bit awkward when she linked her arm with his, but he got used to it and it actually felt nice. He had a very attractive girl on his arm and was currently on their way to the theatre to take in a movie. To Naruto's surprize, Raichi chose an action movie with the famous actress Fujikaze Yukie, something they could both enjoy as a thank you for allowing her to pick the movie. During the whole movie, she refused to unlink her hand from his and even fell asleep on his shoulder. Naruto chuckled lightly and chanced slipping his arm around her. To his surprize, she snuggled into him and was snoozing so peacefully, he almost didn't want to wake her when the flick ended.

"Hey...Raichi-chan?" He said, lightly rousing her.

"Mmm...*Yawn*...Time to go?" She asked, still in a daze from waking up.

"Yeah...Come on." He said as he gently lifted her to her feet and escorted her out. By the time they reached the exit, she was fully awake and alert, feeling a bit playful as she gave him a kiss on the cheek when the left the theatre.

Walking down the street, however, was a certain blond kunoichi that had just gotten done eating with her team and was now on her way home when she saw the pair come out.

_'I can't believe Sasuke tried to hit Sakura! That jerk! It's a good thing Naruto-kun and Iruka-sensei were there...'_ She thought until she saw the couple come out of the theatre. She quickly hid behind a business sign and watched them.

_'What the hell am I doing, spying on them like this?'_ She asked herself until she saw the kiss. It was like something broke inside of her when she saw it. She didn't know of the engagements, but she saw this as a missed chance, a slight tear falling down her face.

_'That's no more than I deserve for all I did to him...I wouldn't deserve him, anyway.'_ She thought sadly as she made her way home to sleep off her improptu heartbreak.

Finally, after a slow walk back to the Li Estate, they made it to their destination as she turned to face her escort and future husband.

"Well...I really had a good time, Naruto-kun. I hope we can do this again soon." She told him as she kissed him squarely on the lips, holding it for more than a minute.

"That was the my first..._real_ kiss." Naruto murmured.

"Real? What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

Naruto groaned as he told her the tale of his ill-fated first kiss...with Sasuke of all people. She promptly began to laugh her ass off, but kissed him again, a little longer this time.

"There. I hope _that_ was a better one." She told him coyly.

A stunned Naruto simply nodded his head.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun." She told him as she slipped inside of the compound, the guards snickering as his flabberghasted reaction.

"Oi, kid...You alright?" A guard chuckled as he shook the stricken blond out of his stupor.

"Y-yeah...I'm...Fine." Naruto replied in a monotone voice, still in shock as he staggered his way back home.

_**KONOHA JAIL CELL...**_

Sasuke was currently sitting in his cell, awaiting trial for attempted assualt and disobeying a direct order from his superiors and sulking about it. He resisted Iruka the entire way to the hooskow, even breaking free at one point only to be brought down by another former classmate and his sensei, Shikamaru and Asuma, who had just gotten finished with a Shogi game at a parlor and were getting a bite to eat when the stumbled across them.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Sasuke had just broken loose form Iruka's grip and was currently pelting down Tea Street and bound for the Uchiha District._

_ "Uchiha! Get back here! You're under arrest!" Iruka hollered after him as he tried to catch him._

_ 'If I can ditch this loser, I can grab some gear and leave this village of fools behind me. I'm taking Orochimaru's offer and after I kill Itachi, this village will burn for trying to keep me down!'_ _He swore as he increased his running speed. His burst of speed was short lived, since he relied on chakra for nearly everything and never really did much in the way of physical conditioning. As a result of that, he was seriously out of shape and he was tiring quickly._

_ Coming out of a Shogi parlor down the street was Shikamaru and Asuma, fresh out of a game and ready to grab some food when Sasuke went pelting past them._

_ "Stop Sasuke! He's getting away!" Iruka called to them for help. _

_ "Aw, man...Life just doesn't STOP..." Shikamaru whined as he and Asuma lept after the fugitive Uchiha._

_ They managed to get ahead of him using the rooftops and Shikamaru predicted that he was headed for the Uchiha district, so they made plans to ambush him there. Sure enough, he headed right for his house and gathered every piece of ninja gear and weapons he could find into a travel pack. Right after he set foot outside of main clan house, Shikamaru sprung his trap, ensnaring him in his Kage Mane while Asuma got his arms around his throat and Iruka caught up, signalling the lazy Nara to release his jutsu._

_ "Let me GO! This village is WEAK! Orochimaru will give me what I want!" Sasuke snarled with contempt._

_ "I don't think so, Uchiha. You obviously did something stupid enough to warrant getting arrested and now you're talking about treason. It's troublesome, but you're not going anywhere." Shikamaru told him in a bored voice._

_ He was ready to turn around when he felt a foot connect with the side of his head. Sasuke had managed to lash out and kick Shikamaru in the face when his guard was down. Iruka responded by nailing him with a powerful punch to his stomach before Asuma tightened his grip around Sasuke's neck, cutting off his oxygen and causing him to pass out. The bearded Jounin simply hefted the now rouge Last Uchiha by the scruff of his shirt._

_ "Little idiot...Throwing tantrums just because he was told no..." Asuma growled._

_ "Son of a...That's gonna leave a mark." Shikamaru hissed in pain as he checked for blood._

_ "You okay, Shikamaru?" Iruka asked._

_ "Yeah...I'll be fine. Let's just get this guy behind bars." Shika replied as they set off._

_ Their first stop was the Hokage's office. They needed to know what he would do about Sasuke's attempted flight on top of his crimes._

_ A few moments more saw them inside the Hokage's office as Jiraiya glared at the Uchiha's audacity to actually try and escape the village. The Gama-sennin smacked the downed triator until he woke up._

_ "Wake up, Uchiha." Jiraiya ordered._

_ Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he attempted to escape, but he was bound to a chair._

_ "What do __**you**__ want? Un-tie me right now!" Sasuke demanded._

_ "Shut up!" Tsunade thundered._

_ "You've pissed me off for the last time, Uchiha. You've not only attempted to harm an Academy student, but you also assualted two of my Chuunin, resisted arrest and now you tried to defect? To Orochimaru of all people? You'll be lucky to catch another glimpse of sunlight as long as you live." Jiraiya snarled._

_ "You dogs! Release me right now, or I'll tell the council and have you all put to death!" The traitor demanded smugly. However, the response he got was bone chilling._

_ "You ignorant little shit...You honestly believe that the council will help you? You're behind the time, brat. You see, I've already taken the liberty of replacing many of the council's members. Many of them were on your father's payroll. Even after you clan's demise, they continued to suck up to you by giving you whatever you wanted, hoping that once you came of age to claim them, you would give them your continued support. We managed to weed out the bad seeds and replaced them with more...honest civilians and far more reputable. Your free ride is now at an end." Jiraiya told the once arrogant and smug clan heir, whose face drained of any color._

_ "You...You can't do this to me..." He stammered in disbelief._

_ "Yes...We can. You've crossed the line at treason and your last chance has been blown. Take him away." Jiraiya ordered to his ANBU, who simply grabbed the traitor, chair and all, and flickered away._

_ Jiraiya sank into his chair, Tsunade and Sarutobi by his side. The now ex-Hokage was kicking himself for not doing what Jiraiya had done at the beginning of his reign. Trust someone with an abstract way of thinking, like Jiraiya had always done, to come up with a simple solution to a complicated problem. He simply did as he explained, he got rid of the corrupt members of the council and replaced them which people he could more easily keep tabs on. This was must easier to do once he fired the two pervious elders and began to chip away at Danzou's power base in an attempt to bring him to heel. So far...it was working like a charm._

_**FLASHBACK END...**_

Sasuke was now sitting in his jail cell, trying to make sense of what just happened.

"B-but...I'm...an Uchiha, aren't I? Uchiha...don't go to jail..." He kept mumbling to himself as time clicked by.

_**OUTSIDE OF THE VILLAGE'S BORDERS...**_

What remained of Orochimaru's Sound 4 had just recieved word from their only remaining spy within the village that their target had just been arrested and was set for trial the following morning.

"We need to get in there and bust him out NOW!" Kidoumaru said forcefully.

"Shut up, dumbass! They got their top guys guardin' that stupid little fuck! If we go in now, they'll kill us before we even get _near_ Lord Orochimaru's new dick sheath!" Tayuya countered.

"She's right. None of us are good enough at stealth to get the job done. We need to contact Kabuto and get his help...Maybe Kimimaro's, too." Sakon mused, being the de facto leader at the moment.

"Not _that_ guy...Four-eyes is so...creepy on so many levels and who's to say that he'll even help us?" Kidoumaru whined.

"Heh...This coming from a guy with _six_ fuckin' arms?" The feisty red head taunted.

"Shut your pie hole, carpet muncher!" The spider-like man retorted.

"Will the both of you grow up? We need to get started on a plan NOW, or we get to be Lord Orochimaru's next experiments." Sakon told them as they all disappeared from sight.

_A/N: Ouch! Try asking Kakashi what goes bump in the night! Next, the Sound 4 is being patient for now, but they'll be making their move soon enough. On top of this, Naruto had the first of his dates with his brides-to-be, Raichi! It went pretty smoothly and Apachai's suggestion actually worked! The Muay Thai Shinigami __**and **__a doctor of love? Also, Konohamaru teaching cute and innocent lil' Sakura-chan the Sexy Jutsu? That could spell trouble...or comedy. Just depends if you're on the business end of it!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Ouch...It's been a while since I updated last. Anywho, read back a few chapters to get a feel for what's going on if you forgot. I've been really busy with work as of late. Here...Please enjoy..._

_**KONOHA COUNCIL CHANMBERS**_

It was mid morning, just after breakfast time when the Clan Heads and Civilian Counselors all began to arrive in the chambers, conveneing for the tribunal of one Sasuke Uchiha. The Clan Leaders were not very happy about Sasuke breaking the restrictions of his suspension and attempting to strike a small girl in the Academy, but then he attempted to escape from the arresting Chuunin, attacked three Chuunin and a Jounin, attempted to defect and he fully admitted to it. This was treason, plain and simple.

Finally, after twenty minutes of people filing in, Jiraiya himself, along with his two counselors Tsunade and Sarutobi, arrived with the victim and witnesses in tow. Shikamaru and Asuma were asked to testify, which they accepted easily along with Iruka and Naruto. Sakura was brought along by her mother, but the most surprizing of the people who had volunteered to testify was none other than Kakashi. Jiraiya didn't know what he was getting at, but would wait and see what he would do as he called the gathering to order.

"I call this Military Court Marshal to order! Bring in the prisoner!" He ordered to the ANBU, who opened a door and two more ANBU came out, holding Sasuke's chains like he was a rabid dog.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You stand accused of not only attempted assualt on an Academy student, but also disrespecting your superior officers, attempting to escape from custody, striking a ninja of superior rank, and attempted treason. Have you anything to say before we start?" The Toad Sage asked, his gaze hard as iron.

"Everything was just fine until that dobe got better than me...THIS IS ALL HIS FAULT!" Sasuke ranted until one of the guards struck him across the face to silence him.

"Your conduct hardly does you justice, Uchiha-san. He had nothing to do with your fall into disgrace." Hiashi stated with thinly veiled disgust.

"Do not think that your name will grant you any leniency here, Uchiha-san, for it will not." Aburame Shibi added.

"How dare you strike Uchiha-sama? He has done nothing wrong here!" A fat merchant and counselor, Miyamura Kishou, bellowed.

"That is quite enough, Jiraiya! I demand that you cease this...this...farce at once!" Homura demanded, but the room was flooded with Ki as the civilain council was culled.

"You are only here as a formality. You no longer hold any sway in ninja matters. This is a full military tribunal and it is _not_ open for debate. One more outburst will see you visiting Ibiki." Jiraiya threatened.

"Now...If that is all you have to screech, we will begin." Jiraiya said as he called Sakura forward.

Chiaki and Naruto had a hard time calming her down after that outburst of Ki, so Jiraiya went down there himself to help calm her since he scared the poor girl so badly.

"Shh...It's okay...I wasn't angry with you. Now...Can you tell me what happened to you when he tried to attack you?" He asked of her. Sakura seemed to calm down after this and told everyone the events that had occured in great detail, drawing a few chuckles from her conversation with Hanabi, Konohamaru and his friends, who seemed to take her under their wing. What set Sasuke off was when they began to talk about Naruto within earshot and he lost all reason in his rage. Sakura would have been hit hard enough to give her a concussion if Naruto hadn't rescued her.

"I can concur with her story on that account. My granddaughter was there and saw the whole thing, as well. It turns out that she befriended the girl and she and Konohamaru have taken a shine to her." Koharu stated.

"T-That's preposterous! How can we take this seriously? I demand that her testimony be stricken from the record!" Kishou bellowed.

"Denied. She is the victim of the attempted assualt, so her testimony is both valid and vital." Yamanaka Inoichi countered, shooting down their objection.

"Alright. We have her testimony, now we move onto the testimony of our Chuunin and Jounin." Sarutobi called out, moving the trial along.

Naruto stepped forward first to deliver his statement, follow by Iruka, Shikamaru, and Asuma, who pursued and captured him. The final statement and nail in the coffin was delivered by Kakashi himself.

"Kakashi, before you speak, we would all like to hear about your change of heart. What caused you to change your mind like this?" Tsunade asked skeptically.

"I...I had a nightmare...Sensei...Kushina...My teammates and my father...They were so angry with me...I am nothing but a disgrace to them for how I treated my team, especially Naruto-san. This was brought on when I looked in on Sasuke to see how he was doing and he was looking into Naruto's...secret." Kakashi explained, looking around.

Naruto picked up on it in a heartbeat and spoke out.

"Sakura-chan already knows and I trust Shikamaru to not freak out, so spit it out." Naruto half snapped at him to continue.

"Ahem...Sasuke was studying on how to either become a Jinchuuriki or how to control a Bijuu's power, like Naruto-san can. I feel that he is going insane. Taking him out of the equation will be an act of mercy for both us and for him." Kakashi stated honestly.

"I see...The Shinobi Council and Elders will now collaberate and render a verdict." Jiraiya announced as they all huddled together.

"So...What do you guys think? Is he redeemable in your eyes?" Jiraiya asked them.

"To be perfectly frank and in Kushina-san's words...Hell no. He's been given everything his heart desired, but it still wasn't enough for that spoiled brat and now he dares to attempt treason and with Orochimaru on top of that. He needs to be made an example of." Hiashi stated, the others nodding grimly in agreement.

"You guys agree, too?" He asked Tsunade and Sarutobi.

"It pains me that one so young has threatened treason, but what's done is done. We cannot allow Orochimaru to get his hands on the Sharingan." Sarutobi said.

"That little bastard is just as bad as the rest of his clan. He needs to go before something awful happens." Tsunade agreed. The verdict was in...Uchiha Sasuke's fate had been sealed.

"We have reached a verdict. We find Uchiha Sasuke guilty on all counts and will be given the maximum penalty of death for his crime of treason and admission of conspiring with the worst criminal Konoha has ever known." Inoichi declared, drawing looks of disbelief from the civilian side over the situation over the decision.

"Right. His execution will be held publicly in two days time." Jiraiya confirmed, his glare curtailing any argument that might have come forth. He gave the ANBU a hand signal to take the Uchiha away.

"You can't kill me! I am an Uchiha! No one can kill me!" He was heard ranting all the way down the hall before a heavy thud slienced him. They were all ready to go home, but a few questions needed to be asked.

"Kakashi...Since when did you care about doing the right thing? I thought that you were attached to the Uchiha lip to ass." Tsunade commented, catching the attention of the fleeing Civilian Council.

"Yes...We would like to know this as well, Hatake." Danzou added, his one good eye narrowed in suspicion. He was sure that he had Kakashi under his thumb and blindly following what they told him. He was VERY interested knowing what made him change his mind.

"I've had some time to think about what I've been doing wrong. What happened to Sakura, Naruto making Chuunin without me or the team, and Sasuke literally losing his mind and demanding to be made into a Jinchuuriki..." Kakashi rattled off.

"He WHAT?" Homura exclaimed.

"You heard me. He wanted to be made into a Jinchuuriki. I told him that even if he survived the process, which was next to impossible, the charka would poison him since Naruto has a near immunity to it from the Kyuubi being within him since birth and it would still be useless if Jiraiya-sama hadn't helped him control it. After all of that, I wanted no part of any of his madness." Kakashi finished. His explaination...well, explained pretty much everything else. However, certain individuals on the Civilian Council thought they had found something to use against Jiraiya and was audacious enough to call him out on it.

"You showed the Demon brat favortism, Jiraiya?" Genshou Higi, a promenent land owner and real estate investor, bellowed in an accusatory tone. That was a very stupid thing to do since an ANBU knocked him out and dragged him from the room while the others looked outraged.

"Even though everyone present possessed knowledge of Naruto's special status, it was unwise to call me out like that without knowing the full situation. I trained him _before_ the Chuunin Exams and at that time, becoming the Hokage wasn't even a thought on my mind. I know what this job entails better than anyone in this room other than sensei himself and it pains me that I cannot train my godson any further. I still have many things to teach him from his father, my student. I know that if Kushina were still with us, half of this council would have been dead long ago." Jiraiya glowered at the council while the shinobi pieced things together.

It was time that they all knew the truth. Naruto was plenty strong and he would only become even more powerful with time. Iwa's grudge against the Yondaime had died with him, as he had personally found out from one of Old Man Tsuchikage himself just this morning. Old Onoki, as it had turned out, knew about Naruto being the son of his hated enemy from the get go, but chose to let the grudge die. He just wanted to see Konoha sweat over it for a good laugh, but he highly disapproved of the council's methods in handling a Jinchuuriki. Also, as it had turned out, his own Granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, had seen an intelligence report on him which included a picture and was somewhat smitten. When word got out that Naruto was a shinobi and how he faired against Kiba despite his massive handicap, he was toying with the idea of arranging a marriage with his granddaughter to Naruto. He had just gotten the missive that morning. With all of this, it was time for him to be recognised as the son of the Yondaime Hokage.

"No way...He's the Yondaime's kid? I feel like such a collosal idiot for not spotting the resemblance sooner..." Asuma smacked himself in the forehead while Shikamaru went slackjawed. The civilian council members that didn't know were stunned into silence. Kakashi...hit the deck hard, out cold from the sensory overload to his already frayed nerves. Iruka had a gut feeling as to who's kid he was. That kind of pranking genius could only have come from Kushina.

_'No wonder sensei was so angry with me...I treated his son like he was worthless...He's going to kill me again after I die...' _Were Kakashi's last thoughts before entering blissful unconsciousness.

Hiashi and the rest on the Shinobi council who knew merely smirked when the truth came out. They felt that it was about damn time the kid's true heritage came out into the open. Once the main populace found out that they were abusing the only child of their greatest hero, they had no doubt that many would be getting shit drunk tonight and maybe a few suicides. The bottomline was that since the former elders knew the truth, but did it anyway, they would lose their popular support within the village and have no leg to stand on any longer. Even Danzou wouldn't escape unscathed like he usually did.

"Wow, Nii-chan...Your daddy was the Yondaime? He was my uncle?" Sakura asked him in childish wonder. However...That innocent question was caught by the former elders. Now, during all of this, Danzou had been suspiciously quiet, but chose this moment to speak.

"I guess that blood sample from the hospital wasn't a lie. Kushina Uzumaki wasn't the last Uzumaki, she had a sister that also survived and now a niece." He said.

"What makes you say that?" Tsunade asked tightly. Danzou wasn't completely correct and there was no need to tip their hand yet, but he was too close to the truth for comfort.

"Come now...That little girl looks like her and come to mention it...So does her mother." Danzou replied, pulling out a DNA readout and handed it to the civilian council members, who's grins were starting to turn predatory.

"Yes...I am curious about this now, too..." Homura chimed in.

"I quite agree...If this information is indeed accurate, I propose that Haruno Chiaki and her daughter be used to boost the numbers of the Uzumaki Clan. We will screen candidates for use and they will be married off. Young Sakura will be expected to have her first child after she hits puberty and Chiaki Haruno will be paired with a shinobi of our choosing." Danzou stated callously.

"Wait just a minute! I am MARRIED, thank you! On top of that, I want NOTHING to do with your sick plans and leave my daughter out of this!" Chiaki snarled, throwing what Ki she could still muster at them while she grabbed Sakura and got behind Naruto and the other shinobi.

"Wait just a GODDAMNED minute here...If you so much as LOOK at them wrong...I'll kill you all!" Naruto snarled loudly, his Ki becoming suffocating but aimed.

"D-Did you hear that? He threatened to kill us all!" Kishou yelled until Tsunade was in his face in a heartbeat.

"Good...Because whoever he DOESN'T kill, I will. By extension, they are also of the Senju Clan and therefore fall under my protection. If I even hear a rumor of you guys trying something, I'll be the one to kill you." She threatened, her powerful grip snapping off a chunk of the fat merchant's chair like a rice cracker.

"Jiraiya! Stop this madness! We only seek to increase our strength! You've already deprived us of the last Uchiha!" Homura shrieked.

"No. I will not allow this to happen. Chiaki is already married and Sakura is far too young for that, not to mention the acting Uzumaki Clan Head, Naruto, had denied you. Besides, Naruto is an Uzumaki and he is already making use of the CRA. I believe Hyuuga Hinata is one of the three brides he had currently with at least two more slots open. The other two girls are from powerful Martial Arts families and he is the nephew of Fuurinji Hayato by blood." Jiraiya explained, making Koharu think of a way to put a positive spin on it.

"Is that so? Then there is nothing to worry about since Naruto-san has already shouldered the CRA for his clan. If anything he will help to spread these powerful bloodlines further and given his performance during the exams, his children will likely be even stronger than him." She reasoned, making the family sigh with relief. Homura and Danzou looked scandilized.

"Do you know what you are saying?" Homura exclaimed.

"Of course I do. The combined Namikaze, Fuurinji, and Uzumaki bloodlines within the boy, coupled with the demon he houses, those children will be powerhouses the likes of which we may never see again. Although, I am kicking myself for agreeing that he should be suppressed. If we had nutured his latent talents instead of trying to quell it, think of what he might have been by now." The old bat reasoned yet again. Jiraiya, Sarutobi, and Tsunade were shocked that the old battleaxe was taking Naruto's side all of the sudden.

"That settles that. Chiaki and Sakura Haruno are _not_ to be bothered by these matters any further. Since this was the final issue, I would like to conclude this meeting." Jiraiya stated as the Civilian Council staggered out in a daze, the shinobi walking out feeling vindicated, but he called for Koharu to stay behind to talk with himself, Tsunade, and Sarutobi.

"Now...What was that about back there? You hated that kid since he was born, but now you side with him? I'm gonna need a damn good explaination for this." Tsunade demanded.

"I simply agreed that Naruto-san had done the right thing without needing to be prodded. I also regret that I had a hand in repressing his growth. I have no doubts that if he were treated fairly, he would be far more powerful than he is now, if his near supernatural growth during the training month for the Chuunin Exams was any indicator. Also, I have no intention of tearing a married woman from her husband or a young child from her loving parents and her very protective cousin. This is a boon to the village, more so than the Uchiha." Koharu explained carefully.

The three rolled this information over carefully, looking for any deceit but finding none...For now. They decided to let her alone for now, but would err on the side of caution when dealing with her.

Out in the hall, the rest of the shinobi had gathered to converse on what had happened inside and on the new information they just learned.

"Man Naruto...You just get more troublesome by the second. Now you're the son of the freaking Yondaime." Shikamaru griped.

"I have to say that it was a real shock, but then again, it wasn't. I mean, the answer was right in front of us the whole time and we still didn't see it." Asuma added, mentally smacking himself from not noticing sooner.

"Me too...I mean...I had a crush on your mom." Iruka said in disbelief.

"Iruka...Too much information, man..." Naruto groaned at the statement from his former sensei and now fellow Chuunin.

"Seriously. That was a tad creepy." Shikamaru agreed as little Sakura and her mother walked up.

"Naruto-kun...Thank you for protecting my daughter and myself in there." Chiaki thanked him.

"You're my family. I'll do anything for my family." Naruto replied as Sakura hugged his waist, he himself smoothing her hair down.

"That bad person won't try to hurt us again?" She asked. She knew what the punishment meant, but her young mind still needed that re-assureance that he wouldn't try to hurt her again.

"No...No he won't, Sakura-chan. He won't hurt you or anyone else ever again." Naruto reassured her. He felt that this was for the best. Sasuke had become more like a rabid animal that needed to be put down, for everyone's sake. He was willing to jepordize everyone's safety and well being for his own selfish desires, that included his newly discovered family and his friends.

_'Yes...This is for the best.'_ He told himself.

Team 7 was finished after the pre-lims were over and it was clear that nothing would ever be the same again. This past month had been a whirlwind for him. So many things had changed in such a short span of time, many of them wonderful, like learning of his true family, regaining a friend once thought to be lost to him forever, becoming a Chuunin, and gaining his future brides. He looked over at his friends and family, then to the sky.

_'My life...It's changed so much, but the things that I have gained and earned, I will never let them go, nor will I forget that it was my precious people that helped me get as far as I have. I will keep training, getting stronger for their sake. With that strength, I'll protect my fiancees and family from anything that threatens them. I'll make them all proud, become a great Hokage just like the ones before me and my dad. That is a promise of a lifetime.'_ Naruto swore as he prepared to walk out of the hall with all of them, but a voice called him back.

"Naruto!" Tsunade called out to him, making him turn around.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"We need to talk to you about something. It's really important." Tsunade told him, her expression conveying as such. He knew her well enough to know when she was serious, so he turned to the rest.

"Sakura-chan, Aunt Chiaki...I need to go. I'll try to visit later." He told them.

"Okay...Bye, Nii-chan." Sakura pouted, but was perked back up slightly as she hugged her tightly. He then walked in after his Godmother to hear what was going on.

Once he was inside, the doors closed behind him, a silence seal activating to prevent eavesdroppers from listening in. As it turned out, the Shinobi council was still there, waiting expectantly for the news Jiraiya had to offer. He moved over to a file folder that contained a single message bearing the seal of the Tsuchikage, dated yesterday morning.

"This was delivered to my office yesterday morning from Iwa. That old goat Onoki knows about Naruto and about who he really is." He told them, making them gasp. Naruto tensed up too. He was always told that the Yondaime, his father, was their mortal and hated enemy. If they knew about him, they might try to hurt his family.

"If he knows...Then he will more than likely want revenge." Hiashi surmised.

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. It turns out that he's known about him for several years, but chose to do nothing. He let the grudge die out when Minato died, saying in his letter that it was a waste of energy and time to hold a grudge against a dead man and that he hoped that the younger generation wouldn't pick up on it. That's why we haven't heard much out of Iwa for such a long time." Jiraiya explained.

Sarutobi's jaw dropped. He could imagine that old goat laughing his head off and at his expense. His face burned with embarrassment and indignation. Tsunade was equally shocked. She thought that she would be seeing Iwa assassins inside of a few days, but this was a literal bombshell. The rest of the council shared looks of surprize. It was like seeing the Kyuubi pop out of a cake and saying that the attack was just his version of a practical joke.

"I'm not even finished yet. You see, that old fart has a granddaughter Naruto's age and she's seen his profile and a recent picture from a few days ago. He's toying with the idea of a political marriage to establish ties to our village, in an attempt to jump start trade and the stagnant economy in his village since she's kind of taken with the gaki." Jiraiya informed them, teasing his godson slightly at the end.

The clan heads were giving this some serious thought while Naruto's nervous system nearly fried out.

"D-Wha...How...?" He sputtered out as he did his best impersonation of a fish out of water.

"Gah ha ha! The gaki's speechless! I hear that she's a real looker, too! You've got the Goddess of Good Fortune lookin' out for you, kiddo! Now you've got four brides to please on your wedding night, so I hope you've got stamina!" Tsume Inuzuka laughed, couple of others chuckling along.

"Naruto, I've already accepted on your behalf and he's sending her here in the next few days to meet you." Jiraiya informed his Godson, showing him a picture of the young Iwa kunoichi in question. He had to admit that she was a looker. She had short bobbed ebony hair and golden colored eyes along with a face that reminded him of that crazy proctor lady from the second exam. Sh elooked both pretty, but scary. However, those thoughts were the furthest things form his mind at the moment as he let out one of the intelligent responses he was famous for.

"You WHAT? Are you INSANE?" He yelled, some of the old Naruto coming out.

"You heard me, gaki. You're getting every red-blooded males wet dream! I could get research capital from you alone! Geh he he he ha ha!" The Ero-Hokage cackled with mad glee.

"Jiraiya...What have I told you about using our godson for your research?" Tsunade growled in disapproval.

"To not to..." He answered meekly.

"You won't don't, will you?" She asked him, to which he shook his head no so fast, they thought he got whiplash.

"Good boy." She replied, patting his head while she turned to Naruto.

"I know this will be tough to deal with, but please give this a chance. She already likes you, from what we've heard. What we need to do now is explain the situation to the girls. Hopefully, they will understand. If not...I'm sure we can find another shinobi of good standing in your age group. You don't have to do this if it comes down to that, Naruto. I'm sure the Tsuchikage will understand." She soothed her fretting godson.

"If you say so, Oba-san..." Naruto replied, not sounding too relieved. The three brides-to-be were beyond wonderful and honestly more than he believed he deserved and he loved them dearly, but they expected more? He just didn't feel right about it.

"Naruto...What's wrong? You can tell me." She told him gently as she slipped an arm around him. If there was one thing she knew about her Godson, it was how to get him to open up to her. He needed a motherly presence in his life and he seemed to accept her as such.

"I...It's just...What about the others? I mean, I already have more than I really deserve and I don't think it's really fair to the girls to introduce ANOTHER girl into this." Naruto explained.

Tsunade understood what his problem was immeadiately after he said that.

_'He's loyal to them to a fault and that proves that he's no pervert. You're really one in a million, brat.'_

"I understand, Naruto-san, and I commend you on your steadfast loyalty to my daughter. Many young men would have jumped at the chance to add another woman to their betrothal, but you resisted. I will talk with Hinata about this, as well as Kensei-dono and Tenmon-dono and get their thoughts on this matter. They will talk with their daughters and we can work from there. How does that sound." Hiashi offered, further calming the fretting Chuunin down.

"I'll talk with them too, Naruto. I'm your Godmother, so it's pretty much a given that I wanna look out for you." Tsunade added, nudging Jiraiya.

"What?" He asked.

"Well? You forced him into this by accepting without telling him, so you need to help him smooth things over." Tsunade chided.

"Oh yeah...He heh...That. Yeah, sure. I'll lend a hand." He agreed, mainly after seeing the vein on Tsunade's neck enlarge seemingly own it's own volition.

He thought about it for a moment and relented. It would at least give his girls a chance to voice their opinions on the subject and give him a chance to talk with Hayato-jiisan, Miu-onechan and Shigure-onechan, and the other sensei about it.

_'At least Tsunade-obasan is willing to comprimise on it...'_ The young blond sighed to himself as he exited the hall and proceeded to head back to Ryouzanpaku, hoping that their training/ass-kicking sessions would help him focus on the problem he now faced.

_'Wait a minute...'_ Naruto halted his walk out the door and spun around quickly.

"Oi...Jiji...Kyoufu...Didn't you two say that you had to hide who I was to prevent Iwa from coming to kill me?" Naruto asked, a sharp untone in his voice.

"Well...Yeah. That's what we thought." Jiraiya answered.

"Damn that old goat..." Naruto snarled in anger.

"What's wrong..." Tsunade was about to asked, until she got what he meant.

_'If that old goat had just came out with it in the first place...We could have announced his brithright much sooner and spared him so much trouble and heartache.'_ She surmised sadly.

"What's the problem, Naruto-kun?" Inoichi asked.

"Yeah...What's eatin' ya, kid?" Tsume added.

"If he had just told Jiji in the first place...Then he could have told me who my parents were YEARS AGO! I just wanted to know their names! I didn't care what they meant to anybody, about who or what they were! I just wanted to know, dammit!" Naruto yelled, his anger starting to boil.

"You know...He is correct on that account." Hiashi agreed.

"Do you think he knew how Naruto was being treated up until now?" Chouza asked.

"There's no way of telling until we talk with him in person. He will be arriving with his granddaughter soon...Sometime tomorrow. We can ask him then." Sarutobi answered.

"Good.. I wanna know what kind of sick joke he was playing at..." Naruto snarled.

"Naru-chan...Please calm down. You know...If he hadn't done that, you might not have had some of the things you have now...Like Sakura-chan, your aunt and the girls?" Tsunade soothed him. He almost immeadiately calmed down.

"You...You're right. I might have turned out like the Teme...I'm sorry, Oba-san...Kyoufu...For yelling like that." Naruto apologized, ashamed of himself.

"It's okay, kiddo. You had a good reason to be upset. That info coming out would have saved you from a lot of hardships, but that's all in the past now and your stronger for it." Tsunade soothed him.

_'Man...What else could happen today?'_ He asked himself, as if to tempt fate.

_**OUTSIDE OF THE VILLAGE...**_

"So...Sasuke-kun got himself into trouble and will be executed tomorrow...Did I hear you correctly?" Kabuto asked the three elite shinobi of Orochimaru's personal guard as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ward off a migraine. They had called for reinforcements to pull off the mission, so he brought along Kimimaro and Karin, another medic, and a contingent of Sound Jounin who were waiting near the border. She was brought to keep Kimimaro's diesease under control and to help improve Sasuke's curse mark. During the time they were there, she stuck close to Tayuya, one of her only friends since Kin died during the exams.

"Yeah...He tried to smack this one kid who mouthed off to him, but his ex-teammate took him down. More people showed up and took him away. While they were transporting him, he blabbed about defecting and tried to escape, but they stopped him cold and imprisoned him. Now, they decided to execute him for treason. He's being imprisoned in the High Security wing of the ANBU prison as we speak." Sakon informed the Snake Sannin's right hand man.

"That little fool..." Kabuto growled in displeasure.

"That little Uchiha fucker's more trouble than he's worth. I say we leave him for the fuckin' crows." Tayuya groused.

"No. Lord Orochimaru will have his new body. We will go in and take him back tonight." Kimimaro told them, the tone of voice he used leaving no room for arguments.

"Yeah...But...!" Kidoumaru tried to reason, but was held at knife point.

"We will carry out Lord Orochimaru's will. Do not forget who your master is." He threatened them.

"Yeah...How could we fuckin' forget with that damned hickey on us like collars?" Tayuya growled. She wasn't recruited like they were. She was forced into his service after her mother was killed, a refugee from an now defunct country called Uzushio. She was shown to have a talent with Genjutsu and large chakra reserves, so he branded her. To her, the seal is nothing but a slave collar, but it was people like Kabuto and Kimimaro, the either fanatically loyal or really slimy types, that made sure she served her function...Like now.

_'Heh...At least fatass got released from his seal...I hope he's doin' better where he is...'_ The foul mouthed red head thought as she was jarred from her thoughts.

"We move tonight. Lord Orochimaru's insider has made...Special arrangments for us and has given us an added target...This girl..." Kabuto informed them, showing them a picture of a young pink haired girl, no more than six at the most.

"Who's the brat?" Kidoumaru asked.

"Her name is Haruno Sakura...An Uzumaki. Lord Orochimaru would be most pleased to experiment on her, and possibly breed more." Kabuto answered, his grin something vile. Tayuya eyes flew wide at the mention of the name Uzumaki.

_'Holy shit...Me and Karin...We ain't the last?'_ She thought. Some time ago, she discovered that Karin was a blood relative of hers and they kept that information a secret. Who knew what they would do if they found out?

"We will need to be careful, though. She is being guarded her cousin. He is none other than the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. He is a recently promoted Chuunin and he fought and defeated not only Sasuke-kun and the Hyuuga genius, but also Suna's Jinchuuriki at his full strength, all within an hour's time." Kabuto warned them. He got all of this information from a disenfanchised member of the old council...A certain Warhawk. Naruto had proven himself to be quite a threat.

_'Although...He isn't the only danger within those walls. Ryouzanpaku...Some of the only people Lord Orochimaru fears are there...' _Kabuto thought, but withheld the information.

Again, the red head went ridged with alarm. _'Oh my God...That blond runt really IS an Uzumaki...I just thought it was a coincidence...I...I can't do this!'_ Tayuya warred within herself. She knew that she had to follow her orders, or she would suffer a fate worse than death. But...She now knew they weren't the last. There were others left besides them.

_'That sick fuck told me they were all dead...Now he wants one to experiment on and carve up like a turkey! There's no way in HELL I'm lettin' that happen!'_ Karin swore within herself as she tried to come up with a plan. They were running out of time. The two then made an unspoken choice...During the mission, they defect if possible. If not, they at least make sure that little girl doesn't fall into Orochimaru's hands.

"Come. We will wait until dark and for when the signal will be given." Kabuto ordered as they followed him.

_**LATER THAT NIGHT...**_

Night time fell quickly on the village as they awaited the signal to attack. Deep in the jail cells, a ROOT ANBU cleaned the blood off of his blade, casting his blank stare down at the two Jounin who were guarding Sasuke. He then opened the doors and freed him, removing the restraints and seals that he could. He then set off a decoy explosion on the opposite side of the village as a distraction and as the signal he was ordered to give. Kabuto had Tayuya, Karin, and Kidoumaru retrieve Sasuke while Kimimaro, Sakon, and himself went to acheive their secondary objective, pelting over to the Haruno household. Kabuto and his team were able to move in relatively easy due to the chaos the distraction caused and kicked in the door to the house.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Takato demanded of the intruders, trying to defend his family. He got a bony knife in his shoulder for his troubles from Kimimaro while Chiaki stood in fromt of her daughter.

"Who we are is irrelevant. What we want is the girl. Lord Orochimaru has plans for her and we have come to get her." The Kaguya said in a hollow tone.

"There is no need for pointless bloodshed. All we want is the girl." Kabuto smirked, his voice laced with false compassion.

"Over my dead body..." Chiaki snarled as she turned to her daughter and shoved her into a closet.

"Sakura-chan! Don't come out!" She ordered as she tried to at least make enough of a commotion to attract other ninja. She vaulted at them with surprizing speed as she uncorked a mid-level water jutsu, nailing Sakon and sending him out into the street where she quickly ran out and fired off as big of a fireball as she could, hoping someone saw it until she recieved a blow to the back of her head as Kimimaro moved in to finish her off, but Kabuto stopped him.

"Forget her and that weakling inside. Grab the brat and let's get out of here before we have to fight the whole village." Kabuto ordered. He relented and did as he was told. Afterwards, they ran off into the night just as Naruto arrived on the scene with Iruka, Kisara, and Takeda. Upon finding Chiaki down, he flew over to her side as Kisara and Iruka performed some emergency first aid.

"Who did this? Where's your husband and Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked frantically.

"T-Takato..inside. They...took Sakura-chan..." The woman managed to grate out.

"WHO?" Naruto asked again.

"Sound...White hair..." Was all she could say before she passed out again

"We need to get them to the hospital now." Kisara stated as Takeda rushed into the house and carried out Takato, Iruka shoudering Chiaki. Naruto nodded reluctantly as they sped off to the hospital.

_**KONOHA HOSPITAL**_

They made it to the hospital within a few moments and rushed the wounded Haruno's into surgury. Takato's wound turned out to be light and Chiaki had a minor concussion.

"She was damn lucky they didn't kill them both." Tsunade told them as she finished working on them, Jiraiya, Sarutobi joining them with grave looks on their faces.

"The Uchiha has escaped. It looks like he was busted out by someone and I bet it was Orochimaru." Jiraiya growled out.

"Chiaki-obasan...Said something about Sound and white hair...That snake ass kidnapped Sakura-chan, too?" Naruto exclaimed as he tried to rush out of the door to follow them.

"Hold it, runt. We need to put together a team to go after them." Jiraiya ordered. Naruto halted in his tracks and turned on his angrily.

"Those bastards are getting away!" He replied.

"You won't get very far and even if you do manage to find them, you can't do it alone. Those white haired shinobi Chiaki mentioned had to have been Yakushi Kabuto and Kaguya Kimimaro, two of that snake's top ninja and he no doubt has more waiting. We'll put together a team to get her back and put the Uchiha down for good." Tsunade told him.

"I wanna be on the team that goes." Naruto insisted.

"That's one slot filled. Now for the rest..." Jiraiya thought as they went over the potential candidates.

_A/N: Another chapter down...Again. I'm sorry about the recent slump I've been in. I'm just so busy lately and I've been working back to back 12-hour work days. One of my first impulses is to get something to eat, then sleep._

_ Anyway...Sasuke has been sentenced to death for his crimes of attempted treason and Naruto might be getting ANOTHER fiancee. He's a little reluctant, though. It also seems as though the Tsuchikage knew all about Naruto being his father's son, but chose to let the grudge die, but withheld that from Sarutobi to see him sweat. Unfortunately, that had a nasty side effect on Naruto's life. Who knows how he'll approach the crotchety old Kage and his granddaughter? Also, two more Uzumaki? Like I said before, if Nagato/Pain could turn out to be an Uzumaki, why can't they? They've both got the red hair and I'd imagine that it would be an exceedingly rare hair color. Also, their pasts are also unknown, allowing for some imagination and no, they will NOT be in the harem._

_ Also, I would like your thoughts on who should be dispatched to go on the retrival/rescue mission! Don't be shy with those suggestions!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Alright...I guess some people have been getting a little antsy over this next chapter, so here you go. Those of you who have been waiting for YAMI and YOMI to appear...Here you go!_

_**SOMEWHERE ELSE...**_

"So...The Uchiha prodigy has defected from Konoha?" A voice asked.

"Yes. Frow what we could gather from our intelligence network, Uchiha Sasuke was arrested for assualting his superiors, a small girl, and caught when he tried to defect. He was going to get the death sentence, but Orochimaru had his followers break him out of prison and are now en route to him. We can only ascertain that he intends to take the Uchiha's body as his own." Another voice added.

"I sense that is not all? What is that foolish group my father started up to these days?" The man asked, bored.

"No, it is not, my lord One-Fist. It seems as though they have taken on an apprentice...All of them." The spy replied.

"Hn...I thought that after killing their first one, that Shirahama Kenichi brat, they would learn...Loki. Who is this new brat?" The One-Fist demanded.

"The apprentice is a young boy from Konoha and one of their ninja, one Uzumaki Naruto, thirteen years old and he recently earned a promotion to Chuunin. He was the dead last of his Academy class, but it is highly likely that his grades and education were sabotaged. Yet, during the Chuunin Exam finals, he not only defeated the Hyuuga prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, but also Uchiha Sasuke himself and Gaara, the Suna Jinchuuriki, without resorting to using his demon chakra. However, any information beyond this and his basic statistics is beyond my means. It seems as though his records were destroyed or non-existant." Loki replied.

"What? Why would they do that to a Genin of that quality?" One-Fist inquired. It seemed like a horrible waste of talent, but it spoke highly of his potential if he came this far on determination alone.

"That is a mystery to me as well, sir. However, there are signs that point to the boy being a Jinchuuriki." Loki reported. This piece of information greatly intrigued the other fists.

"Really? How so?" Agaard Jum Sai, the Muay Thai master of YAMI, asked. Loki cleared his throat to continue.

"According to what my spies within Orochimaru's camp had reported, the boy was able to tap into a different power and hold Orochimaru himself at bay, killing off one of his larger summons singlehandedly and stopping another cold with brute force. Then, there is his unnatural stamina and seemingly endless reserves of chakra. Lastly, according to the records from over 12 years ago..." Loki added, with another master cutting him off.

"The Kyuubi incident...We know this already, Loki." A woman drawled out. She was Kushinada Mikumo, the Bewitching Fist.

"According to my spies within Konoha's walls, the boy has been spit upon since his birth...The very night of the Kyuubi incident." Loki supplied.

"But it was widely known that the Yondaime Hokage killed the beast and himself in the process..." A massive, hulking man with a mask, Diego Carlo, the Steel Laughing Fist, said in disbelief.

"But the boy is of the right age..." Hongo Akira, The God Fist, replied.

"Hmm...The boy must have gone through a very harsh life, but to have thrived as he has, his fighting spirit must be very strong." Sehrul Rahman, the Fists of Brahman, stated.

"Ka ka ka ka ka! The boy has a REAL demon in him!" Silcardo Jenazad, the Demon Fist God, surmised and cackled. To the rest, understanding dawned on them as it was no mystery as to how Jinchuuriki are created.

_'The boy is the holder of the Kyuubi and he can control a portion of it's power...On top of being so young, he would be a boon to our cause once his power matured...had he not been contaminated with my father's ideals. He is now a critical threat that must be dealt with, but we must first gauge his strength.'_

"Hmm...Send out the apprentices to test the Uzumaki. Tirawit and Boris should be enough, Tirawit to fight him and Boris to bear witness. I wish to test how strong the disciple of my father is." The One-Fist decided. He turned to a group of shadows.

"Agaard...Aleksander...Inform your disciples of their targets. They need to head out to the Fire/Rice border and await their target." He ordered.

"Got it. He's been telling me he's been bored lately." Agaard complied.

"It will be done, **лидер** _**(Leader in Russian Cyrillic).**_" Aleksander answered.

"What about the Uchiha, Lord Saiga?" Loki asked.

"...He is of no interest to me. If he interferes, Tirawit and Boris may dispose of him." The now named One Fist answered.

Agaard Jum Sai and Tirawit Koukin hail from the same island nation as Apachai, as well as his form of martial arts. While Apachai knew Muay Thai and taught it to Naruto, there was another aspect to it that Apachai hid from him and for a good reason. While Muay Thai is lethal enough by itself, it's ancestor Muay Boran is far more effective, which is what Agaard and his disciple specialize in. One especially lethal technique is called the Yan Erawan, which can kill someone with ease courtesy of a very powerful knee thrust to the heart and inducing deadly heart trauma, capped off with an elbow to the crown of the head.

Aleksander Gaidar and his disciple, Boris Ivanov, both hail from another continent far to the west which holds the country of Russia. There, they have a special division of their army which is highly trained, fanatically loyal, and lethal to a near inhuman degree and could give the shinobi a hard time called the Spetznaz. They even developed their own combat style which centered around grappling. The key was to induce as much pain as possible with various joint-targeting locks and holds, with throws and striking mixed it to even it out. It is called Command Sambo. Among the elite, Aleksander and his protégé stand out amongst them as the elite of the elite.

The two masters informed their students of their tasks, who took to it with seeming indifference. Boris was simply following his commander's orders and while Tirawit seemed indifferent due to the fact that his target is younger than him by at least four years, he was wanting to test himself against a Jinchuuriki. He had heard no end of stories of their power. He had also heard of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and it's ability to copy anything it sees. He was glad that he was authorized to eliminate the Uchiha if necessary, since he abhorred it so much. Stealing styles and not having to work for it was considered sacrelige, a cardinal sin for those who followed martial arts as they did.

Saiga looked at the target picture once again, but something caught his eye this time. It was the expression on the boy's face...It reminded him of the one person he once considered a critical threat.

_'This boy...He looks like Cousin Minato, only younger...Could he really be...And could father know? If he is Minato's son and related to us by blood...His potential will be phenomenal, even without the Kuremisago blood within him.' _ Saiga wondered, but shook it off.

"Loki, I need you to get more information on the Uzumaki. Do whatever it takes." Saiga ordered as he himself withdrew into his thoughts once again.

_'I WILL reclaim my daughter and keep the secrets of the Kuremisago for myself...Shizuha was foolish for protecting her from me...'_

_**EN ROUTE TO RICE COUNTRY...**_

Pelting through the forest at a rapid clip was the Sound team, making their way back to their master with one of their prizes sitting in a barrel lashed to Sakon's back and little Sakura, under a forced sleep, being carried by Karin. Kabuto did that when Sakura wouldn't stop struggling and Orochumaru would have their heads if she was damaged in anyway. Initially, Sakura's struggling had set them back a little bit, so they were running behind. They had only just reached the halfway point when Tayuya set the barrel down when it was her turn to carry it, complaining of stiff shoulders, but Karin knew that it was a ploy to buy enough time for the inevitable rescue team to catch up to them and leaving them obvious clues.

Their plan was to stall as much as possible, since Karin made frequent excuses to stop and _check_ on the Uchiha's status, since she was the only one among them who really knew anything about the Curse Seals. Even Kabuto wouldn't question her on that subject, so her ruse would work as long as she made it believeable. Each stop took more than 15 minutes and she checked him twice an hour, buying the search teams valuable time...

_**BACK IN THE VILLAGE...**_

In a matter of hours, Jiraiya had gathered together a team to track down the escaped convict, kidnappers, and the victim. Over the course of an hour as the word spread, many who were friends of the family, Naruto, or both were throwing themselves at the Hokage, begging to be allowed onto the team. Even Ino had volunteered to go on the mission and a member of the Inuzuka volunteered to go to make amends for Kiba's deplorable actions, one Inuzuka Hana, a Chuunin and expert tracker and medic.

"Okay...Team assignments are Shikamaru, Hana, Naruto, and Ino on team one. On team two, we have Kisara, Takeda, Hinata, and Raichi..." Jiraiya rattled off as the mentioned shinobi confirmed it. He was just about done when the door burst open again to reveal Chiaki, clad in her old Chuunin vest and kunoichi clothes, ready for combat.

"Hokage-sama...Chuunin Haruno Uzumaki Chiaki requesting reinstatement and assignment to the rescue/retrieval team." She practically demanded, determination burning as brightly in her eyes as it did in her elder sister's.

"I'm sorry, Chiaki, but the slots have been..." Jiraiya was about to tell her, but a voice cut him off.

"I'll stay. I...Don't want to stand between a mother and her daughter. Sakura's my best friend...I wanted to see her again and help to make up for the horrible things I said and did to her and Naruto-kun, but it would be better if her mother went instead of me." Ino stated.

Jiraiya had to admit, trading a rookie Genin out for a seasoned Chuunin was a good trade off. She turned to Naruto and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was a friendly one, almost platonic, but the other females in the room could tell there was real affection within it. Hinata and Raichi weren't terribly happy about what had transpired, believing that Ino was only after him due to his advancement in rank and skill, just like when she was after Sasuke.

"Stay safe out there, Naruto-kun...Shika..." She told him and told her teammate, Shikamaru nodding.

"Ino...We need to talk...When I get back." Naruto replied, turning sharply to the door. She simply smiled as she went home, satisfied with his desire to at least converse with her.

Jiraiya was reluctant to allow Chiaki to join this mission. "Chiaki...Did you even get released by the hospital before you changed and came here?" Jiraiya sighed.

"Erm...Eh heh...No?" She replied sheepishly, making him sigh again.

"Just like your sister..." He muttered as he cleared his throat.

"Since there's no knocking any sense into you, you can take Yamanaka Ino's slot on Naruto's team. Now, the most direct route to Rice Country will pass through the Valley of the End. This is the route you all should take heading in. We have no idea as to their force strength, but two of the known shinobi are Yakushi Kabuto, a Jounin-class traitor and medical specialist, and Kaguya Kimimaro, one of Orochimaru's most fanatical supporters and the last known user of the Shikotsumyaku. It allows him to use his own bones as weapons and both of them are extremely dangerous A-Class threats. If they managed to take off the seals we put on the Uchiha, he will also be a threat, around B-Rank due to the Curse Seal and his eyes. All enemy shinobi are expendable, however, special priority goes to the Uchiha. He must not be allowed to escape." Jiraiya stressed as they left for the gate.

_**KONOHA MAIN GATE**_

The two teams were going over final checks to equipment and getting final farewells and advice before they left on the mission. Renka, who wasn't a kunoichi, couldn't go on a sanctioned mission, so she was forced to remain behind but not without giving her affection to her husband to be. Naruto stumbled back to his team, Hana ribbing him slightly.

"Lucky brat..." She chuckled as Kisara and Takeda added to it.

"Yeah...But he's a good kid." Kisara added to it.

"Those girls of his are all really cute, Miu-chan is a _smoking_ hottie, but her grandfather is insane...But who is _this_ lovely vision here?" Takeda asked of Hana.

"Inuzuka Hana...Chuunin and medic." She replied playfully, much to Kisara's ire as Jiraiya appeared at the gate to see them off, all of them snapping to attention.

"You all know what has to be done, so I won't beat a dead horse. All I ask is that you all watch out for each other out there. Dismissed!" Jiraiya bellowed, sending them on their way.

"Kami be with you all..." He muttered, heading back into the village. Jiraiya turned back, but didn't notice a group leave from over the walls.

"Apa! We're going to help rescue Sakura-chan, right?" Apachai asked Miu, who slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! We need to follow them without them knowing and I don't want Grandfather and the others to stop us. I don't want any of them to get hurt if I can help it." Miu replied, Shigure behind them agreeing. She had followed them stealthly and keeping an eye on the only remaining family she has left.

_'Do not worry, Miu. We already know and I have come to help.'_ Shigure thought as she tailed them. She had gained an semi-autonomous status in return for her excellent service record, somewhat like what the Sannin enjoyed.

In through the gates right after the main group left came Kakashi, back from an A-Rank mission out of country and intending on resting a while. It seemed as though since he threw himself at Naruto's mercy, the nightmares were waning, but still frightening. He knew that he would have to work very hard to earn his forgiveness.

"Huh...I wonder what happened?" He asked himself as he ventured over towards the tower to make his report and sleep.

_**OUTLYING FORESTS NEAR THE RICE-FIRE BORDER.**_

The teams made their way through the forest, following the scent left behind by the kidnappers and escapee. Shikamaru thought that something was suspicious, like all of these clues being left behind on purpose and leading them into a trap. Shikamaru then advised that they split apart into two teams, one lead by Hana and her Haimaru Triplets and the other by Chiaki Haruno. Hana led her team in the direction of the clues while Chiaki and her team took a parallel route to avoid everyone getting caught in an ambush and to cover their backs...Until they felt a dark and heavy chakra pulse rip through the forest just ahead of them.

Near them, Karin had halted the team so she could _'check'_ on the Uchiha's seal again, however, Kabuto was growing suspicious of her behaviour.

"Karin...A word, my dear?" He told her sweetly. She suddenly jolted in fear. Not matter how hard she tried to fight it, she was quivering with fright. She wasn't meant to be a fighter, only a scientist, so she would stand no chance against Kabuto. He slowly backed her into a tree as he stared her down, taking in her current state. He now knew that something was wrong.

"Oh, Karin...Karin...Betraying us, are we?" He asked her in a mocking tone.

"Wh-what? N-no! I wasn't..." She tried to protest, but Kabuto grabbed her by the throat.

"You are a _very_ poor liar, Karin-chan. I know that you have been stalling us so that a rescue team can catch up, but why? Let's see...Oh! I know! You are an Uzumaki...just like Sakura-chan here...And Tayuya-chan, too? My, my...Lord Orochimaru will have much breeding stock to choose from once we return." Kabuto stated aloud dramatically, mocking the two kunoichi.

"Shit...That fucking four-eyes found out..." Tayuya growled as she lept over next to Karin, knocked Kabuto away as she handed the girl off to Karin.

"Karin...Run. I'll hold them off as long as I can. Just run back toward Konoha and hand the girl off to them." Tayuya ordered.

"But...Tayuya..." Karin tried to reason with her, but was cut off.

"JUST FUCKING GO! MAKE SURE THAT BRAT GETS HOME!" Tayuya screamed as she activated her Curse Seal to fight the others off. Karin was about to run, when Kabuto intercepted her with a glowing palm to her chest, making her lungs seize up.

"I'll take that." Kabuto said quickly as he snatched the girl from Karin and lept away, just in time for the Konoha team to show up. Tayuya didn't notice them, but saw Kabuto take Karin down.

"I won't let you take her to that Snake bastard!" Tayuya yelled as he ripped after Kabuto, the rest of the team following them.

"What the hell happened here? They were fighting each other, but why?" Shikamaru asked.

"...I don't know...But that girl...She feels familiar." Naruto said quietly.

"H-Help...Sakura..." Karin croaked out in pain before collapsing.

"! Hana! Help her!" Chiaki yelled to the team medic, who complied immediately. Hana immediately found the problem and re-expanded her lungs, allowing her to breathe properly.

"Now...What did you say about my daughter?" Chiaki asked the teenage girl firmly. Karin looked at her and noticed that she had the same eyes as the girl and herself and Tayuya, as well.

"Her...mother? Help Tayuya...She is *cough* trying to rescue her and take her back to your village...I stalled them as long as I could..." Karin grated out.

"So that was on purpose...What do you have to gain by helping us?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm...An Uzumaki, too...I thought...Tayuya and I were the last...We decided that...We needed to protect that girl..." She replied painfully. Naruto's eyes went wide.

_'There are more? We aren't the last...'_ Naruto thought as he strode toward her.

"I'm an Uzumaki, too. Where is their meeting point?" He asked her gently.

"It's...The Valley of the End...That is where they are headed." Karin answered her.

"Hana-neechan...Can you take her back to the village for treatment? She deserves the benefit of the doubt." Naruto asked of the older Chuunin.

"Of course, Naruto-kun. I'll be back as quickly as I can." Hana answered as she hefted her onto her shoulders and sped off.

"Now that we know where they're going, let's go." Naruto growled, the rest seeing no reason to argue.

"...Alright. Let's go!" Kisara roared as they all tore off in the direction of the fight they witnessed.

Miu, Apachai, and Shigure landed in the clearing behind them, trying to keep up with them but stay back far enough where they wouldn't be spotted. They overheard the whole dilemma, but opted to continue on, hoping that Hana made it back to the village alright.

_**BACK IN THE VILLAGE...**_

Hana had just made it to the villages gate in a very short amount of time with a wounded person, sprinting nearly the whole way to the hospital to admit her. Upon getting her there, she immediately reported to the Hokage, who was just de-briefing Kakashi from his mission.

"Hana? What happened? You haven't even been gone for a couple of hours!" Jiraiya exclaimed. She quickly explained the whole situation to him, making his eyes go wide.

_'There are more? I guess it's a good thing that they turned on ol' Snake Face to protect what little family they have left, or they would have been long gone by now.'_ Jiraiya mused as he thought of what to do. However, a solution presented itself.

"Hokage-sama, I will go and back them up further and to replace Hana. I'm sure she's tired and I can use my summon hounds to track them down and catch up." Kakashi said, volunteering to go in her place. He'd been waiting for a chance to redeem himself in Naruto's eyes and to make up for how much he failed his two remaining students. This was the chance he was waiting for.

"Are you sure, Kakashi? Can I really trust to you do the right thing?" Jiraiya grilled him. He needed to know who's side Kakashi was really on, the village or the Uchiha's.

"Sasuke needs to be put down for the sake of everyone everywhere. If Orochimaru gets his hands on the Sharingan, no one anywhere will be safe. If he manages to get hold of Sakura, I will never be able to face Naruto nor his parents or my friends in the afterlife. I'll do everything I can to make sure Sakura comes home safely and Sasuke's head comes off." Kakashi swore.

Jiraiya scrutinized the now seemingly reformed Scarecrow with a very critical eye, as if he were peering into his very soul. Finally, after a tense moment, Jiraiya shifted.

"Alright, Hatake. Go join them and for Kami's sake help bring them all home." Jiraiya dismissed him. Kakashi was gone in a flash, racing out to back up the rescue team at a breakneck pace.

_ 'I have to get there in time...I need to redeem myself.'_ The copy-nin chanted in his mind as he increased his speed even more.

Jiraiya turned his attention to the girl that Hana had brought back, Karin. Tsunade had already been there to see the girl and further treated the injury Kabuto inflicted on her, as well as questioning her.

"Now...Let's cut to the heart of the matter, shall we?" Tsunade inquired, looking like a lioness prowling the foot of her bed. Karin was almost willing to face Kabuto again seeing the expression on the face of one of the Sannin. She steeled herself and explained what had happened.

"W-well...I suppose I should start at the beginning. You see..." Karin went into detail in explaining the situation that caused them to rebel against Orochimaru, about them being Uzumaki. Tsunade ordered that the blood sample that had been drawn be tested against Naruto's and her own and she got the results back half way through the story.

_'S-she's telling the truth! It can't be...'_ Tsunade gasped in shock. She turned and regarded the girl.

"Your story checks out. Blood can't lie, especially the blood in our veins. There are very unique markers in our DNA that cannot be found anywhere else. Yes, I am an Uzumaki too by my grandmother, but I am a Senju as well. Due to your actions in assisting our pursuit forces by slowing them down, we would like to offer you asylum here." Tsunade offered.

"B-but...What about Tayuya? She's just like me. She tried to give me a chance to escape back here with the child, but Kabuto cut me off and took her. She went after him but she can't fight them all off alone." Karin replied, her worry clear as day.

"Don't you worry. The forces we have in pursuit have already caught up and have engaged them, thanks to the time you bought for them." Tsunade assured her.

_**BACK WITH THE PURSUIT TEAM**_

The teams had quickly caught up to Kabuto and his team and a fight quickly ensued. One by one, the Sound team peeled off to fight with the Konoha nin. First, Sakon had peeled away to fight the team of Hinata and Raichi. The twin headed nin regarded his opponents like one would a bug, something not worth his time.

"Looks like I got the easy draw. I'll be done with you two and be on my way shortly." He commented non-chalantly, but Hinata was in his face with a Jyuuken strike to his hand.

It was all she could strike as he pulled away, but it was no less effective. Sakon felt his hand go limp, since she fried the nerves and left it unresponsive. Before he even had time to recover from his shock, Raichi let him have it with both barrels using her signature Suiken style and scored several damaging hits. The punishment continued for a few moments until he found a brief moment to activate his Curse Seal. The resulting pulse of chakra pushed the pair away from him and gave him a little more breathing room, but his arm was still useless, just dangling at his side.

_**"Brother...Why don't we separate for now?"**_ A seemingly disembodied voice suggested.

"And go level 2? I don't see why not. If anything, we can rest for a bit after we've taken out the trash." Sakon replied as they felt another build-up of that dark chakra. Hinata's Byakugan eyes widened a bit, but Raichi had a plan already.

"Rush 'em, Hina-chan! I'll keep their attention on me while you shut them down! We can't waste time with these guys!" She hissed to her fellow bride to be.

In a snap, Raichi launched a brace of weapons at the still transforming nin while Hinata rushed in behind them. Sakon was forced to dodge them, but sailed right into the path of the enraged Hyuuga. He tried to swat at her to make her veer off course, but she slapped the pitiful strike aside easily and went into the _**HAKKE ROKUJOUYONSHO**_, shutting him down completely. Sakon and his conjoined twin were only half seperated when they went down, looking like two torsos growing from one body. Sakon and Ukon looked at their opponents with mortal terror in their eyes, frantically trying to reuse the seal, but their systems just wouldn't respond, like it wasn't even there.

"Not so smug now, are you?" Raichi glowered down at the fallen nin, Hinata's Byakugan enhanced scowl next to her making the normally kind and gentle girl look frightening.

Hinata smacked him with a final blow to the head, taking him down and out for at least a couple of days. Without waiting, she and Raichi set to work on binding him and taking him back to the village so they could get back out there with the one they loved.

_**TAKEDA AND KISARA**_

For the second fight Kidoumaru, had hung back to fight Kisara and Takeda. In the beginning, Kidoumaru thought that he had a glaring advantage over them since they seemed to favor Taijutsu, but their immense speed and striking power knocked him for a loop whenever they connected. He had to resort to summoning his spiders to aid him in his fight. Kisara tried to shake them off, but she was eventually bitten.

"Agh! Wh-what the hell...?" She staggered until she collapsed, her breathing labored. Takeda was at her side in a flash.

"Kisara? Kisara?" He tried rousing her, but she was out for now. Her breathing was fine as was her pulse, but her coloring was beginning to pale.

"You bastard...What did you do to her?" Takeda growled.

"You like? Don't bother with trying to save her since won't be leaving here alive, either." The spider-man wannabe sneered as more spiders came down at his target.

Takeda saw them and responded with a special technique he had been experimenting with.

_'I hope this works...For Kisara-chan's sake.'_ He thought as he activated his state.

_**AUTO-RHYTHM!**_

Takeda became a whirlwind of fists, creating a perimeter of blows that the spiders, no matter how numerous, could not penetrate. Kidoumaru was now getting angry since his attacks weren't getting through, so he decided to get personal...very personal. Using his special webbing, he crafted a bow for himself and used that same material for an arrow, which he aimed directly at Kisara and fired. Having only fractions of a second to react and still being in Auto-Rhythm mode, he was able to react more quickly and managed to snap her out of the way before the arrow struck, but got grazed for it.

"You got lucky that time, but how about another one, hot shot?" Kidoumaru yelled as he attempted to transform into his Second State.

Like the others, this took a little bit of time, but Takeda wasn't a Chuunin for nothing so he recognised an opening when he saw one. Gathering his chakra into his legs, he darted towards the spider nin with alarming speed. Kidoumaru barely had time to dodge the first incoming blow after the transformation had completed before a second impacted dead in the face, launching him away.

"Damn…I wanted to keep him here and punish him a little more." The ashen haired pugilist grunted as he chased his quarry back down again, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where the hell is he?" Takeda muttered, but an arrow answered his question. He was able to avoid a critical hit, but his right shoulder had been pierced through, leaving a near gaping hole and crippling his effectiveness.

"_**What's the matter, hotshot? Not feeling very well?"**_ The grotesque nin taunted as he strung up another shot and fired, this one hitting Takeda's left leg and further robbed him of his mobility.

"S-shit…Kisara-chan…" He bit out through his pain, reaching for her.

"_**Aww…Can't avenge your little girlfriend? Don't worry after I finish you, she'll join you in hell!"**_ Kidoumaru laughed as he strung another shot, but a sudden breeze brushed it's way passed him. Suddenly, he felt it impossible to breath, as if…

In a spray of blood, Kidoumaru's head slid from from his body, the look of total shock forever frozen on his face. Takeda was just as shocked that he and Kisara had been saved, but he couldn't see or even detect his their rescuer. Suddenly, the air shifted behind him and he whirled around as quickly as he could to find one of the Ryouzanpaku masters standing there, Shigure.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you…" He grunted out as he tried to stand himself up, using a tree for support.

"Just stay here…I will signal a medic team that is coming soon to your location." She told him as she waited there for them to arrive.

In the meantime, she took to administering a small anti-venom of Akisame's design to Kisara that brought some color back to her cheeks, much to Takeda's comfort. He cradled her head and released a shuddering breath, thankful that she was going to live through this. Kisara's eyes slowly opened up to see her long time friend staring back at her, a sad smile on his face.

"Takeda…What…happened to me?" She asked.

"You got bitten by one of those spiders…But Shigure-sempai helped me save you. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you too…" He confided in her. Kisara was stunned to hear such a confession from him, but was somewhat moved by it none the less. However, she still had a reputation to uphold.

"Don't get all mushy on me…but…Thanks." She replied as they waited for a medic to arrive to flush the poison from her system completely.

_A/N: Here's another chapter for you! They will be splitting off in pairs to deal with the runners since they have larger numbers and more experienced personnel on this mission. Also, Kakashi is coming much earlier than before and the runners had been stalled, along with Jiroubo being dead and Tayuya defecting so several things are different from canon._

_Anywho, thank you to those of you who voted for me in Brown Phantom's poll!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Here we go...The newest chapter of HSD Naruto...If you need a recap, please reference the previous chapters._

_**FURTHER ON TOWARDS THE RICE/FIRE BORDER...**_

Kabuto and Kimimaro felt the barrel they carried begin to shake.

"He's almost ready...Good." Kabuto commented as they continued on their way and met up with the contingent of Oto shinobi they had brought along just in case they were pursued. These forces were meant to give Kabuto and Sasuke enough time to escape beyond the border with their additional prize, Sakura, but they hadn't expected Karin and Tayuya to turn on them and for the pursuing forces to be so numerous.

"Goddammit! Get your ass back here four-eyes!" Tayuya roared, her Curse Seal still active.

"Ah...Tayuya-chan. How nice of you to join us, but I'm afraid that you've just crashed a private affair and I _really_ take offense to that." Kabuto taunted, turning to the Captain of the Oto shinobi.

"Keep the traitor entertained." He ordered as he lept off again. Tayuya tried to leap off after him, but she was intercepted by seemingly more and more Oto shinobi.

"Dammit...Outta my way, pissrags!" She snarled, whipping out her flute and summoning her Doki to fight.

A little further away, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chiaki had felt them come to a stop and stepped up their pace in an attempt to catch up. They made it to a huge clearing in the forest, where they saw one of the Oto kunoichi fighting a massive group of Oto shinobi and being overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.

"Damn...She won't last long like this. We have to help her since she tried to help us." Naruto decided. Shikamaru was skeptical, but lately Naruto had changed. He wasn't the same knuckle head he used to be...completely. He looked over to Chiaki and could see that her mind was made up.

_'She IS the ranking ninja here...*sigh*'_ Shikamaru mentally groaned as they lept in to aid her.

"What the hell are you doing?! Four-eyes and his pet freak are getting away with that little girl!" Tayuya screamed at them, but they were already on it.

"I'll stay here and help her, Naruto. You and Chiaki keep after them. Go!" He yelled as he used something his father taught him, since he decided to take his training more seriously.

_**KAGE NUI...**_

At his command, his shadow split into sharp tendrils and speared four shinobi that threatened to end Tayuya.

"Don't expect a thank you, ass hat." She glowered as she turned back to fighting the rest of them.

"Troublesome woman..." He grumbled as he set to work.

Nearby, Miu and Apachai had been watching the whole thing unfold. Miu agreed to split off and help fight off the Oto shinobi while Apachai took off after Sakura. Just before an Oto shinobi could bury his kunai into Shikamaru's back, his neck was broken by a terribly powerful kick, the blow sending his body flying away like a rag doll. In his place, a blond haired girl with...Generous endowments stood.

"Nara-san...I came to help you, so get up and keep fighting!" Miu called out as she quickly dispatched another attacker.

"What the hell's with Udder Girl over there? She with you?" Tayuya asked Shikamaru, who shrugged.

"I've seen her before and she's from my village...I think she's Naruto's cousin or something like that." Shika answered as they got back to work.

Further on ahead, the barrel kept quivering and shaking violently. so they stopped and set it down. The display went on for a few more moments until the barrel could no longer contain what was inside it. It exploded in a shower of wood, and there stood Uchiha Sasuke, reborn and more horrible than before.

"Ahh...Sasuke-kun has been reborn...How very convenient." Kabuto smirked as little Sakura stirred and awoke due to the dark pulse of chakra.

"Uh...Wha? What's happening? Where's mama and Naruto-niichan?" She asked, frightened.

"So little Sakura-chan is awake now? Don't try to run, or else Kimimaro-kun or Sasuke-kun here will do terrible things to you." The four-eyed nin smirked at the little girl's mounting fear.

"What is _she_ doing here?" Sasuke drawled, sneering at the little girl.

"Orochimaru-sama desires her for a new breeding program that he is setting up. She is to be taken to him alive and un-harmed." Kabuto ordered.

"Tch...I don't take orders from lackeys like the two of you. I just want power." Sasuke sneered again.

"If you do as you are told...You will get that power. Understand?" Kabuto retorted, not wanting to deal with this brat's high and mighty attitude. Sasuke seemed to back off and accept it, for now.

"Good boy. Now, we must be off before the pursuit forces can catch up to us again." Kabuto added and they prepared to take off, but another pair burst into the clearing, alongside one of the most massive human beings they had ever seen.

"APA! Give back Sakura-chan!" The bronze skinned giant bellowed.

"Momma! Naruto-niichan! Apachai-san!" Sakura cheered in delight. Three of her favorite people were there to rescue her.

"Tch...More pests. Kimimaro-kun...Deal with them." Kabuto ordered, the emotionless nin nodding as he belted off to fight but Apachai interrupted, engaging him in a brutal fury and quickly proving to be more than a match for him.

_**VALLEY OF THE END**_

The other two tried to get away with their prize, but Chiaki and Naruto were determined to not let them get away. After a few more minutes they finally caught up with them at the Valley of the End.

"Heh...You two are persistant, I'll give you that. However...Now you have us to deal with." Kabuto smirked as he lunged in to disable Chiaki, but she caught his hand and delivered a crushing palm heel to his nose, breaking it and forcing him back.

"You caught me by surprize last time, _boy_. Now...I'm dead serious." Chiaki growled, her old skills and experience coming back to her.

"Erg...So, I underestimated you. Easily fixed." Kabuto hissed as he fixed his nose and engaged her in a furious taijutsu duel as Naruto and Sasuke faced off.

"I couldn't care less what those freaks want with the brat. I just want to prove I'm still more special than you. If I can kill you, I'll be that much closer to killing my brother." Sasuke sneered darkly, but another pair made their presense known with a burst of Killing Intent.

"So...You are Uzumaki Naruto-kun. You seemed taller in the pictures Master Agaard showed me." The white haired youth announced in a bored tone.

"And the other must be Uchiha Sasuke. I must admit that I am not impressed." The other youth added, more stout and muscular than his companion.

"And who the hell are you guys? I'm trying to get one of my family back and stop this traitor! Get out of the way!" Naruto yelled in irritation.

"You think you could beat me? Heh...This will be easy." Sasuke smirked darkly as he charged in...only to be shut down by an extremely nasty combo that knocked him unconscious and bleeding from his ears.

_**YAN ERAWAN!**_

"That was...Unsatisfying." Koukin remarked in a bored tone, turning back to Naruto.

"Who the hell are you guys?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. They had to be nasty if they put Sasuke away like that.

"We are members of YOMI...Those who are opposed to the Katsujiken, and those of Ryouzanpaku. I am Tirawit Koukin, Student of Aggard Jum Sai and Muay Boran." Tirawit introduced himself.

"And I am Boris Ivanov, Disciple of Master Aleksandir Gaidar and Russian Command Sambo. We challenge you to a duel of martial arts." Boris challenged.

"Just marital arts. We know of your shinobi status Uzumaki-kun, and we ask that you abstain from using Ninjutsu. It would be unsightly." Tirawit laid out before him.

Naruto looked over to where Chiaki was taking on Kabuto and she was being overwhelmed. He managed to render her unconscious and was about to run off with Sakura until a final person intercepted him, the last person he expected to see.

"Kakashi?" Naruto asked aloud.

"I know I made a lot of mistakes...But it's time I stopped running from them and corrected them, starting here. I won't let them take her away and I will NOT let Sasuke escape punishment!" The legendary Copy-nin announced as he engaged Kabuto with a fury that had not been seen from him in years, his Sharingan blazing with righteous fury.

Naruto now had much less to worry about as he turned back to them.

"Fine. Let's get this over with so I can get Sakura-chan back home safe." Naruto declared, his face now a mask of sheer will and focus as he wondered which one he would face.

"You will face ME! Boris Ivanov!" Boris declared as he lept down to face his opponent.

"I will offciate over the duel." Tirawit stated, leaving it to truly be a one on one duel.

"FIGHT!" He called out as the two fighters clashed initially, but broke off to gauge each other's stances.

_'This guy...He fights with grapples like Akisame-sensei...I wonder...'_ Naruto wondered as he formed a plan in his head.

_'Hmm...I must expect trickery form a ninja. They are weak when they try to fight toe to toe with martial artists...'_ Boris surmised as he lunged in to grapple with his smaller opponent, but since Naruto was smaller but also faster, he was able to evade the grapple and began to work him over using Ma-sensei's techniques.

Naruto threw out a hailstorm of open palm blows, sharp kicks and wrapped it all up with the Shoutenshu to knock his opponent away and into a tree, toppling it. Boris staggered and struggled to stand back up as Tirawit gauged the young shinobi's skill and fighting spirit.

_'Uzumaki-kun appears to have quite the fighting spirit. He is still young yet, though...Only time will tell if he will be a worthy opponent...if he lives that long. The life of a shinobi is rife with danger.'_ The Muay Boran disciple mused as the fight rolled on.

"You pack quite the punch for one so small, ninja. I see that my time is not wasted." Boris commented as he got Naruto in a clinch and proceeded to beat the living hell out of him with repeated blows to his torso and finally ending it with a sophisticated armbar combined with a chokehold.

"Struggle all you want...It will make no difference. I will complete my mission and return to my master." Boris stated in a voice that was almost robotic, the look of a stone cold killer in his eyes.

"Y-you..." Naruto struggled against the hold, trying to wriggle his way out of it. Finally, he managed to break his hold.

"Freaking psycho!" Naruto bellowed, twisting free and introducing the heel of his foot to the crown of Boris's skull, knocking him unconscious, just as Kakashi withdrew a lightning covered fist from Kabuto's chest.

"Naruto! Are you alright?!" Kakashi inquired, looking at the blond's haggard condition.

"Y-yeah...I'm fine, but don't let them get away with the Teme or Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, seeing Kabuto's wound heal quickly. The wily Oto-nin quickly grabbed Sasuke, made a few handseals and seeped into the ground and escaping the battle with at least one of their objectives.

"Dammit! You damn clowns ruined the mission!" Naruto turned to scream at the two mysterious fighters that had ambushed him, but they too had vanished.

"Who were those guys? They sounded like they at least knew of you." Kakashi asked.

"Yeah nii-chan. Who were they? They looked really mean." Sakura asked innocently.

"I dunno...Maybe the masters or Hayato-jiji would know. Let's just get Sakura-chan and Chiaki-obasan out of here and make sure the others are alright. C'mon Sakura-chan...Climb on my back." Naruto suggested as Kakashi nodded, summoning a few of his tracker hounds.

"Hey guys...Take us to where the others are." He ordered, the nin hounds howling in acknowledgement as they bounded off, the humans after them like a shot, Naruto carrying Sakura and Kakashi carrying Chiaki.

_**KONOHA MAIN GATES**_

All teams had agreed to meet back at the Main Gates upon completeing their objectives. So far, Hinata, Raichi, Kisara, Takeda, and Shikamaru had shown up, Tayuya coming with him since she requested to see the rest of the Uzumaki and she did try to stall them as long as she could. Behind them were Shigure, Miu, and Apachai, who simply pummled his opponent until _"He couldn't play anymore and fell asleep."_ Meaning that Kimimaro had died on his feet. Miu, Shikamaru, and Tayuya managed to repel their attackers, the remaining handful numbering in the single digits compared to the 100 that had come originally. Kisara was making a rapid recovery from Kidoumaru's venom and Takeda was having his wounds mended while Shigure eagerly awaited the return of her adopted younger sibling. Jiraiya was also there at the gates, ready to dispense justice on the spot when the Uchiha was dragged back, Tsunade and Shizune ready to treat anymore injuries that came through. Finally, Ino had shown up, eager to patch things up with Naruto after so long.

Finally, Hinata's Byakugan-enhanced vision caught sight of a group of familiar signatures approaching them at high speeds, drawing closer every second. The signature then became close enough for her to make out who they were.

"It's Naruto-kun! He has Sakura-chan with him! Hatake-san is following him with Chiaki-san over his shoulder and he had his nin-hounds leading the way!" Hinata cheered, but Jiraiya had a question for her.

"What about the Uchiha?" He asked, the girl looking even more intensely.

"No...I...Can't see him." She answered sadly.

"Well, we'll just have to wait until they get here to explain what happened." Tsunade suggested.

After a few more moments, the small group lande in front of them as Tsunade and Shizune raced up to check them all for injuries. Naruto was somewhat beat up, Kakashi had moderate fatigue, Sakura was groggy, but Chiaki was in rough shape. Kakashi unloaded her carefully and got out of Tsunade's way to let the treatment begin as Naruto let Sakura down, or at least he tried, but she wouldn't get down. With a heaving sigh, he launched into explaining how the mission went down.

"...We chased after Kabuto and his lackeys, everyone peeling off to let the rest of us continue on. Soon, it was down to just Chiaki-obasan and me when the barrel they stuffed the Teme in exploded. He felt...Dark, more evil than before. They jumped away and left that creepy bone guy to fight us, but Apachai-sensei jumped in and fought him for us, so we tore off after the Teme and Kabuto, catching up to them at this place with two huge statues." Naruto explained.

"Valley of the End..."Jiraiya muttered, sensing the irony of it all.

"Chiaki-obasan split off and attacked Kabuto while the Teme faced me, muttering something about killing his brother again when two more wierdos showed up. The said they were from YAMI...YOMI...something like that...They said that they had to challenge me and they knew who I was. One of them messed up Sasuke in a few seconds and I had to fight the other one. I beat him, but during the scuffle, that bastard Kabuto grabbed Sasuke and got away! I'll cream those jerks if I see 'em again..." Naruto muttered, but the Ryouzanpaku in attendance all went silent, the two Sannin and the ex-Kage noticing.

"I trust you know of this group?" Sarutobi inquired.

"Yes...Those two groups are the anti-thesis of the Katsujinken we follow. They follow the Satsujinken, to kill all those they deem unworthy of living without remorse, where we of the Katsujinken fight to defend life." A voice spoke up from behind them. Hayato and the other masters had arrived.

"I see. What will this mean for young Naruto?" Sarutobi asked his old friend.

"They are now aware of the fact that we have taken on another disciple. We will have to step up his training if he is to stand a chance. It is good that he managed to defeat one of their disciples, but there will be others. They will be stronger than before and will no doubt adapt to Naruto's tactics." Akisame explained.

"Wait, what? You had another before me? What happened to him or her?" Naruto asked, almost dreading the answer.

"He was only a few years older than you are now, Naruto-chan. His name was Shirahama Kenichi and we trained him out of pity, but he eventually grew strong in his own right. Sadly...He was killed in a duel with one of YAMI's disciples three years ago. I remember that young Miu was very attached to him." Hayato explained sadly, Miu's eyes watering at the memory.

"So he not only has the Akatsuki after him...But now these maniacs. But if push comes to shove, they will have _ME_ to deal with. I earned the title of Sannin for a damn good reason." Tsunade growled.

She was NOT about to let them take one of the only links to her family she had left away from her, and on top of that, she was a very accomplished Martial Artist herself, having studied Kenpo in her youth. Jiraiya was no slouch either, having learned the Kawazu Kumete, the Frog Style Marital Arts, from the Toad Sages themselves, making him a massive threat even without using jutsu. The other shinobi present were also muttering their agreement with her, willing to stand together with him and face this new threat down. Even Tayuya was willing to throw her hat in the ring to preserve the few remaining blood ties she had in this world.

"It is good to see that you have so many good friends and allies you can count on, Gaki. Not many people are so lucky." Sakaki grinned as Jiraiya stood up and addressed the teams.

"This mission is only a partial failure, since Sakura has been safely recovered but the Uchiha was lost due to outside interference. At least everyone made it back alive, that is something we can live with." Jiraiya wrapped things up as they all headed inside, but Ino wanted to speak with Naruto for a moment. The girls looked like they suspected Ino of wanting to worm her way into his good graces solely because she was shifting her obsession from the Uchiha to Naruto, but if Naruto promised to talk with her, they would trust him. Naruto handed the sleepy Sakura off to her father, who had come from the hospital so he could take her home.

"Naruto...I...Thank you for actually wanting to talk to me after...well, everything that's happened." Ino started the conversation, albeit awkwardly.

"I made a promise and I do my best to keep them." Naruto replied simply, his face expectant.

"I...Just wanted you to know that I really am sorry for everything that happened. I was just being a stupid kid...But that's no excuse for what I did to you and Sakura. This all could have been avoided if I had just listened to my dad." Ino lamented. He could tell that she really meant what she was saying, not acting to get what she wanted like she usually did, but he let her continue.

"I should have known there was something wrong with her, but I...That damned obsession with that damn Sasuke...I even started to drive my own parents away with it, like I already had with my two childhood friends, Chouji and Shika. I knew those two since we were born, but as soon as Chouji started being teased, I...abandoned him. I'm so ashamed of myself for everything I've done..." Ino cried out, now starting to sob and laying her soul bare to him.

All of the guilt she had bottled up inside had reached the breaking point and now she was beginning to overflow. Everything mean and manipulative she did to everyone was now coming back to haunt her, especially one that she was being forced to face up to, the one that had become her greatest sin. To make matters worse, she was actually starting to have feelings for her fellow blond, real and honest feelings that had been building up over the course of the past couple of months. When she saw Raichi kiss him outside the theatre that one night, she realised that she fell for him and fell hard, but no matter how hard she felt she tried, she would never be able to get him to see her in a romantic light, not after what she had done to him.

Naruto was completely stunned with what Ino had just confessed to him, not really knowing how to respond to that especially after she had him on a death grip and was bawling her eyes out on his shoulder. He was trying to comfort her, clumsily but at least he was trying. After a few more awkward moments, she pulled away slightly to give him a chance to speak.

"Ino...You explained yourself to me well enough and I can tell that you aren't lying to me. Carrying around all of that guilt couldn't have been easy. Listen...We should talk more when we get the chance and you really should talk with Chouji and Shika too, but for now...I forgive you." He told her, all of her stress and guilt suddenly draining from her body. She literally fainted on the spot, leaving Naruto to carry her home and after that, head over to the Hospital to see how the others were holding up.

Nearby, Renka, Hinata and Raichi had bore witness the whole thing and after Hinata gauged her reactions with her Byakugan, she saw that Ino was 100% honest. All of that guilt had her so twisted up inside, that she was now a jumbled mess. As hard as they tried to convince themselves that it was a ploy, the fact that she was honest and open about it burned that away, making them honestly feel sympathy and pity for her. They knew there were two more slots open, slots that would have to be filled eventually, and they wanted to be sure that their fellow brides could be trusted, no duplicity in mind.

"...I think we need all need to have a talk with her and soon." Hinata summarized their thoughts, the other two agreeing.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that girl's really screwed up but trying to put her life back together. She dumped that Uchiha pissrag BEFORE she saw him perform, so I think she's salvagable." Renka added her two cents.

"I agree with Renka-chan. She actually defended Naruto-kun before he fought. I heard everything because I was sitting nearby." Raichi concluded their discussion.

"I'm glad we got that out of the way!" Renka cheered, she and her fellow fiancees marching back inside, but froze. She had forgotten something, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"You okay, Renka-chan?" Raichi asked.

"Yeah...Just had the wierdest feeling that I forgot something..." She muttered as her stomach rumbled.

"No use thinking on an empty stomach! C'mon...Let's go find Naru-kun and get some chow!" She cheered as they continued their march.

Just behind them, a small delegation had landed right at the gates to Konoha, the thing that Renka _forgot_. Two were massive men with bulbous noses walked in front of two smaller people. One was a kunoichi around 13-14 years of age and the last was a small, old man who wore the robes of the Tsuchikage.

"Ah...First time I've been to Konoha without getting jutsu flung at me left and right." Onoki remarked.

"Too many trees for my liking." Akatsuchi, the largest of the group groaned.

"I kinda like it here..." The lone female, Kurotsuchi, added with a grin.

"Air's clean here at least and I can smell something good in there." Kitsuchi, the father of the young kunoichi remarked, his nose twitching.

"Dad...Is food the only thing you think about?" She moaned.

"Men gotta eat, my dear girl! The way to a man's heart is through his belly! That Naruto boy will probably have a big appetite! All growing boys do!" The tall man chortled.

"Yeah...but, I'm kinda embarrassed, dad!" She replied indignantly as they proceeded further into the village.

"Come on you kids...That old goat Sarutobi's waiting for us." Onoki grumbled, his entourage follwing him again.

_**HOKAGE'S OFFICE**_

The group continued to draw odd stares as they ascended the steps to the Hokage's office, reaching the receptionists desk.

"Could you be a dear and tell that stubborn old goat Onoki's here to see him?" The Tsuchikage requested.

"Y-yes...Right away, Tsuchikage-sama..." She stammered as she buzzed them inside.

No sooner than they stepped inside, they saw the man they came to see talking to his two remaining students, Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Sarutobi, you stubborn old goat. How are you and where is the young lad?" Onoki asked.

"I've been better, that much I can say. As for Naruto, he just returned from an A-Rank mission, his first as a Chuunin only an hour ago. I'd wager he's either eating his fill at Ichiraku Ramen or dozing off at home with his Greatuncle." Sarutobi replied, but had something to add.

"Also, there have been some changes as of a week ago. In the aftermath of Orochimaru's failed attempt to crush our village using Suna as his patsy, I appointed Jiraiya-kun here as my successor. He is now the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade and I his advisors. Also, Jiraiya-kun and Tsunade-chan are his godparents, so anything to do with Naruto-kun they will also have a say in it. Also, his legal guardian is on Fuurinji Hayato, if you remember him." Sarutobi added, enjoying the look of stunned surprize on his face for once.

"Consider that payback for not telling me about letting go of the grudge. Naruto-kun's pretty steamed about that."

"Why? What impact could that have made?" Onoki asked, honestly not knowing what happened, but the grim looks on their faces spoke volumes.

"Please explain." He asked, to which he was told the sad and grim story of Uzumaki Naruto's childhood and life until a month and a half ago. Then, his miraculous improvement under the right teachers when his Greatuncle discovered his existance. Next, his fights in the Chuunin Exam Finals and subsequently defeating a Jinchuuriki at full strength after so many matches.

Onoki was saddened knowing that his attempt at a joke had caused the young boy to suffer unimaginably, but he felt a bit of pride for him for how he took all that pain and channelled it into making himself stronger and better. Kitsuchi was impressed with the boy's sheer strength of will, while Kurotsuchi was even more taken with him after what she heard. She knew about the other fiancees, but that was just part of the deal, the way things went. Grooms like him were once in a limetime and she had no intention of settling down with some average nin, someone not able to keep up with her. She felt he could push her to her limits, just what she wanted.

"I...Really want to meet him...All of this just got me even more excited to finally meet him." Kurotsuchi stammered, trying like hell to regain her usual command confidence.

"I just want to ask...What got you so hot and bothered over my Godson? Just curiosity between us girls..." Tsunade asked in a conspiratorial whisper, the once confident girl reduced to blushing again.

"W-well...I think he's kinda cute...With those whisker marks and wide blue eyes, I mean! And the way he managed to rise above all that...He's the groom for me!" She almost squealed.

Note that I said _**almost**. _Kurotsuchi doesn't squeal, but she got damn close to it. Tsunade got a good chuckle out of it but asked another question.

"You _do_ know that he has three fiancees already, right?" She asked.

"Yeah...Gramps told me about that, but I got a gut feeling he's worth it." She replied.

"Really? That's good to hear, especially when there will be one more eventually. You see, the stipulations state that there are five slots that _have_ to be filled within one year's time. Any longer than that, he's SOL, his brides will be parceled off. That would be a real shame, since they really like the brat." Tsunade explained.

"Who are they? Will get to meet them?" She asked.

"Oh...I can guess that they want to meet you just as badly." Tsunade commented offhandedly.

"So...Hayato is the kid's Greatuncle? I can guess that Minato was his nephew." Onoki muttered as he stroked his chin.

"Who's that, Gramps?" Akatsuchi asked.

"Fuurinji Hayato, he was and is still known as the Invincible Superman, a master of martial arts to such a degree that I don't think he's even human anymore." Onoki shuddered.

"A Martial Artist can't use jutsu, so this old guy can't be that much of a threat." Akatsuchi snorted, his sister wisely keeping her mouth shut.

"The traitor Orochimaru is scared to death of him even now, and he wouldn't even come near this place without tricking Suna into attacking alongside him first. The other masters that have gathered around him are just as lethal. They are part of the reason why we never even got close to Konoha and Kumo's Sandaime Raikage was overthrown by his own shinobi because he wanted to throw all of them at the masters to avenge a loss. They were that scared of them and you should be too." Kitsuchi warned, bopping his son on the head as Jiraiya sent for one of his ANBU.

"Ushi...Locate Uzumaki Naruto for me and come back, we will go to where he is." Jiraiya instructed as the ANBU nodded and took off.

"Now...We wait."

_**KONOHA HOSPITAL**_

Naruto was wandering from room to room, seeing each of his friends that had been injured during the mission. Takeda and Kisara were in the same room, Kisara recovering from poison while Takeda had wounds to his arm and leg, but they were in pretty good spirits. On top of that, they seemed a little closer than they were before. Chiaki was recovering from over-exersion, chakra depletion, and a moderate concussion, but she was already conscious. Naruto knew Kakashi deserved his thanks for coming to their rescue when they needed him the most, at least stopping Kabuto from killing her and running off with Sakura again. The creepy part was that Kabuto recovered from having a Raikiri blowing through his chest in seemingly moments, that annoying healing ability saving that slimy bastard's hide again. the rest of the team came through with little to no injuries, Kakashi just down the hall due to exhaustion.

"Hey..." Naruto greeted.

"Hey yourself." Kakashi replied back casually as he fished for something to talk about.

"Would you believe they took away my Icha Icha? They gave me this wierd fiction book called Lord of the Rings...It's kinda interesting, though. I wouldn't mind some of that Mythril..." Kakashi stated thoughtfully.

"I never thought I'd see the day you'd read something other than that smut book." Naruto chuckled, the tension in the room draining away.

"You know...I can never be sorry enough for the way I treated you and Sakura." He finally mentioned.

"Yeah...But you really came through for us when we needed you. So...You're forgiven, Kakashi-sensei. Get better, alright?" Naruto said as he left the room.

"He forgave me...He called me sensei again..." The Copy-nin whispered as he quietly sobbed into his book, then slowly fell asleep.

_**DREAMSCAPE...**_

_Kakashi awoke in his hospital bed, but the room was gone and everything was white._

_"What's going on this time?" He asked aloud, hoping that someone or something would answer his question._

_**Kakashi...**_

_"What the hell was that?!" He began to panic, hoping that this wasn't another nightmare._

_**Kakashi...You have done well...**_

_The booming voice address him, but not in a malevolent manner. Instead, it seemed to be congradulating him as wispy shapes appeared as his side._

_**"Kakashi...You earned his forgivness. You helped save the last of the Uzumaki from the clutches of Orochimaru and worse. We too...Shall forgive you. Be a better teacher to your next students, okay?" **__Minato and Kushina thanked him._

_**"You really came though...Just keep it up and we'll see you up here when your time comes, alright?" **__Obito and Rin._

_**"My son...You have redeemed yourself. Do not squander this second chance that has been granted to you. Your mother and I will want to hear of your life when you join us again."**__ Sakumo, his father._

_All five of them smiled at him and then disappeared in a brilliant flash, sending him back._

_**END...**_

"They forgave me too...The nightmares are over..." He moaned in his sleep, sleeping soundly for the first time in what seemed ages as tears ran down his cheeks freely.

Finally, Naruto made his way to Karin's room, where the pretty red head was still recovering from the lung damage Kabuto dealt to her, Tayuya asleep in a chair next to the bed with her flute still in her grasp.

"Hello...Um...Naruto, right?" She asked, starting the conversation.

"Yeah...I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My mom was one." Naruto stated.

"So was mine, and Tayuya-chan's too. It's nice to know we aren't the last, we're not alone anymore." She replied, tearing up slightly from happiness.

They were safe now. Orochimaru couldn't touch them and from what they were told, the current Hokage might be able to remove the Curse Seal, thanks to some data he gleened off of the Uchiha's. A woman named Anko had hers removed only a few days ago and she never felt more free, showing that it was possible. Hopefully, with the notes and knowledge she held about Orochimaru's research, she could help counter any vile thing he came up with in the future. She would now lend her aid to the place the rest of her clan called home, where she didn't have to constantly watch her back.

"How many more are there?" She asked.

"Well...There's me, Chiaki-obasan, Sakura-chan...That's it, actually, not counting you and Tayuya-chan." Naruto replied.

"Oh...At least we're all together." Karin reasoned with a shrug.

"What are you to gonna do after you get out of here?" Naruto asked.

"I was planning on staying here, maybe get a job working at the Hospital. I did do medical research, after all." She explained.

"Maybe Tsunade-obasan will hire you on...She runs the Hospital and Shizune-neechen's her right hand. If you're lucky, she might take you on as a student." Naruto mentioned, her ears perking up.

"That sounds like a nice plan...Nice thinking, cousin." She mused aloud as the door to the room opened, revealing Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sarutobi, and five other nin bearing the Iwa symbol.

"Eh...Kyoufu? What the hell are they doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah...I thought Iwa hated Konoha somethin' fierce..." Tayuya agreed, something not seeming right to her.

"Gaki...They are actually here to see you." Jiraiya replied, drawing a look surprize from the occupants of the room.

"What for?" Naruto asked, suspicious of their motives.

"I'll let the old farts here explain that." Jiraiya stepped aside, said old farts grumbling about disrespectful kids.

"Naruto-kun...This is the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Onoki. Remember what we talked about after you arrested Uchiha Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked, nudging his memory a bit. Naruto's eyes went wide, but they narrowed.

"Now I remember! That old fart thought it'd be funny to see us sweat over a grudge that didn't even exist anymore!" Naruto fumed. He may have let it go, but he was still a little steamed about it.

"I know, I know...Looking back and after hearing of it's side effects, I regret that. However, that isn't the only reason why we're here. I brought my granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, here to finally meet you in person. The betrothal between the two of you will be part of a treaty to help patch up the shaky relations between our villages." Onoki explained. Once again, Naruto had a deer in the headlights look on his face.

"Naru-chan...C'mon, kiddo. We explained all of this and I hope that Hiashi and the others have explained this to their daughters, too." Tsunade sighed.

"Whoa...What the hell just happened here?" Tayuya asked, completely bewildered, the situation explained to the two newcomers.

"Wow! Nice going, cuz! From zero to hero!" Karin teased her newfound relation.

"Well now...Shrimpy's got some animal magnitism." Tayuya joked dryly.

"Are they...two of the fiancees?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Oh Kami NO! We're family with Naruto-kun and Tsunade-sama, his cousins!" Karin explained quickly.

"Oh...I was hoping to meet them..." Kurotsuchi trailed off as she walked up to Naruto and took his arm in hers.

"However...Naruto-kun can take me on a tour of the village!" She said cheerfully as she dragged him from the room, the boy looking to his cousins for help.

"Uh uh...You're on your own here, lover boy." Karin teased.

"Get goin', turd." Tayuya grunted as she shifted again and fell back to sleep as Kurotsuchi dragged him out the door with the others watching in amusement.

"Traitors!" Naruto complained weakly, but his insult went ignored as they vanished from the room.

"He's in for a wild time. I'm glad I'm here to see it." Tsunade.

"I'm just glad, Tayuya and I weren't the last after all. We really do belong to a family and we'll do everything we can to protect it." Karin swore as she got some rest.

_A/N: Finally. I managed to eek out another chapter. I've ben super busy with my new job, which has me working 12 hours shifts and after I get off work, I just want to sleep. On top of that, my laptop took a dump on me. I would like to thank those of you who waiting patiently for this next chapter._


	13. AWESOME SPECIAL!

_**Special OMAKE!**_

_**I know that it's been a while since I last updated, but I just wanted to bring you this funny little Omake that has been rattling around in my head. Now, I mentioned that small crack about the Gods of Awesome and how awesome the masters are. Well, what if they needed an awesomeness refresher course every now and then? But, who would teach such a course? Who on God's Green Earth would have those qualifications?**_

It was an average day in Konoha...Well, average for _most_ people. Nothing even remotely associated with the Ryouzanpaku can be considered average or normal. I should have said that training was going like it normally was, eye-popping, jaw-dropping and terror inspiring feats being churned out by the boat load. Young Naruto was off training with/getting his ass kicked by one said terror inspiring master, Sakaki, with his cousin watching from the sidelines and playing a game of Go with Apachai. Naruto was watching his teacher closely, trying to watch for any hint of movement when the burly brawler simply punched the air, the air pressure picking him up and tossing him like a rag doll.

"BWAHAHAHA! You're still wet behind the ears, gaki!" Sakaki laughed loudly amid the small voice of Sakura asking her _Oni-chan_ if he was going to be alright.

"You okay, nii-chan?" She asked.

"Yeah...I just wish I had their strength..." Naruto groused as the Elder strolled up to him.

"Don't get yourself down, Naruto-chan. You are still young and have yet to acquire your Awesomeness Credentials." The old master comforted, pulling a small card out of his robes.

"A _card_? All you get when you're awesome is a freaking card?" The boy asked incredulously.

"Well...Yes and no, Naruto-kun. This card identifies you as a member of a very special group of people." Akisame clarified.

"So you guys all have one, Akisame-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, yes...We all have one, child. Even old Sarutobi has one." Kensei replied with a chuckle, all of the master whipping their cards out, Sakura reading Apachai's.

"A.L.O.A?" She muttered, confused.

"The _**AWESOME LEAGUE OF AWESOMENESS!"**_ Sakaki replied, epicly roaring the name itself, Naruto having to grab his little cousin to keep her from flying off._**(Think of those TV ads for Monster Truck rallys, that big, booming and echoing voice.)**_

"The...Awesome League of Awesomeness?" He asked, trying to regain his hearing.

"Yes. It is called the _**AWESOME LEAGUE OF AWESOMENESS!" **_The normally calm and stoic Akisame answered, further shocking the boy and his younger cousin.

"Do you _really_ have to do that?" Naruto sighed as he tried to calm Sakura down.

"I'm sorry Naruto-chan, but it's sheer awesomeness demands no less." Kensei answered him as the Elder remembered something.

"I nearly forgot...We need to renew our memberships. I must call _him_ to come in the morning." He said aloud as training for the day concluded.

After Naruto had dropped off Sakura and gotten himself into bed, he was led to think about just who would be so awesome that they could judge the awesomeness of others.

_'Huh...Guess I'll find out tomorrow...'_ He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

_**THE NEXT DAY...**_

Naruto was hip deep in training again, Sakura having come over after school let out to play Go, as was her routine. Things kept on going normally until they all felt..._something_. It was as if a veil of sheer awesomeness had descended upon the village. Lesser men felt their genitalia shrink while women were being driven into an erotic frenzy as a man with reddish hair and a matching beard calmly pushed the massive gate to the Ryouzanpaku grounds open, the masters all greeting him respectfully. The man then greeted Hayato.

"Hello there, Hayato. It's been a while." He stated with a small grin.

"Indeed it has, Mr. Norris. I take it you will be conducting the re-qualifications this time around?" The Elder asked.

"Yes. It's a shame that the by-laws prevent you from re-qualifying your people, but I am glad to have the chance talk with you once again." He replied as he had all of the masters lined up for their re-quals.

"Now...We will being your re-qualifying exams. I will need you to do something that will make a normal person wet themselves on sight." The man known only as Mr. Norris ordered as they proceeded into the village.

Upon reaching the village proper, they set out to accomplish their tasks while the proctor and Elder watched on with old Sarutobi joining them, making sure they didn't cause too much damage and havoc.

"Ahh...I remember having to re-qualify." The old ex-Kage sighed in reminiscence, watching Shigure throw a handful of vegetables into the air and in seemingly one swipe with a wooden spoon, reduced them to small, identical cubes, making a few men emit a foul odor.

"That was impressive..." Mr. Norris noted, checking her off the list as Sakaki made a small sculpture out of iron by repeatedly battering it with blows, making some people watching him faint from the overload.

"Hmm...I'll allow it." The proctor stated, moving onto the next one, Kensei.

He was at the fishing pond when he saw that a young boy was having trouble catching fish. He simply smiled and asked the boy to hold his hat. He let his palm hover over the water as he took a deep breath, then he thrust his palm, not quite making contact with the surface but causing a localised explosion that had fish raining down on the lucky lad, who thanked the kind and undeniably awesome stranger and went on his way.

"A very good use for awesomeness. I believe Kensei is approaching his eligibility for permanent status. One more re-qual like this and he's earned it." noted as they left to find Apachai.

Apachai was at the park, playing with Sakura and some of her little friends, the Konohamaru Corps and Hanabi Hyuuga. They thought that he forgot what he was supposed to be doing until a little girl cried to him that her kitten had clawed its way to the top of a old pole and couldn't get down. He simply walked up to it and pulled it out of the ground, laid it down and the little girl retrieved her kitty, making all adults in the vicinity smile.

"He has his own brand of awesomeness. He passes with flying colors." The proctor noted down. It was widely known that Apachai loved children and that made him awesome in a whole different way.

Akisame was calmly walking downtown when he came across some rather...Abrasive individuals. Two shinobi had drunkenly stumbled out of a bar, much to Sarutobi's irritation, and had bumped into the mustachioed man, blaming him for everything. As soon as he turned his back, they threw a pair of kunai at him but he didn't seem to notice. Just scant millimeters from impact, the pinged off of an invisible wall, making their jaws drop.

"I'm sorry, buy my awesomeness is just so hard to contain." He said simply, walking away calmly as the pair of idiots babbled in fear.

"Wow...It's been a while since I've seen a aura of pure awesomeness. Full points." Mr. Norris stated as they all packed it in and left for the compound again to see Naruto still hard at work.

"Is he a student of yours?" asked.

"Yes he is, but he is also my great nephew..." Hayato replied, telling him about Naruto and all that he's overcome. The man was stunned, but also deeply impressed, taking a small card out of his pocket, walking up to Naruto and explaining who he was, and what had been going on today.

"Young man...While I cannot bestow full membership upon you since you are still very young, I can give you a provisional membership and this card until you come of age, for all that you have overcome and how you've maintained your positive outlook." He told the awe-struck jinchuuriki, handing him his very own card.

"That...Was just plain _**AWESOME**_!" Naruto bellowed epicly while holding the card aloft. Later on, he would discover that his brides to be all suddenly felt...Damp down South.

The time had finally come for the man to say his goodbyes and left the village. All of the men felt their balls drop once again and women came down off of their high once this man left, still wondering what the hell was going on.

"Well...Today marks a milestone for young Naruto, and hopefully there will be many more in his life for him to achieve." Hayato commented to his old friend.

"If he keeps this up, Mr. Norris may wind up having having that successor to his title one day in him. I was twice Naruto's age when I earned mine." Hiruzen replied with a proud smile.

"Indeed...The future is looking bright." Hayato answered him as they wound down their day.

_**A/N: Whew...Here is that special addition I promised. I've been awfully busy as of late with things going crazy in my life, needing my full attention for damage control. **_

_**Now...If you will excuse me...(Author screams to the heavens and goes Super Saiyan because of the residual AWESOMENESS...) I must take my leave.**_


End file.
